Acceptance
by glowing-chkcurry
Summary: What do you do when you don't know how to gain someone's acceptance? His father was always uptight about his grades ever since he was a kid, but something seems to be different now. Kagami feels more pressure to gain approval from his dad, but why? Aomine notices the change in Kagami's attitude and begins to pester Kagami more than usual. AU
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Why do people work so hard in order to gain the approval of others? To what extent are they willing go? "Kagami-kun!" Kagami's thoughts faded away as he heard the light blue haired boy call his name. Kagami only slightly tilted his head, but he can see the boy staring at him intently. There was only silence for a brief moment until the boy decided to speak, "Kagami-kun, I've noticed that you haven't been very focused the pass few days…is there anything that's been bothering you lately?"

Kagami let out a sigh, "Kuroko…why are you even here with me? Didn't Kise want to hang out today?" Ya he was trying to avoid the question, but it was a valid question. He remembered the other day Kuroko had said that Kise wanted him to go over to his place to help him out with some _stuff_, but for some reason Kuroko followed him to Maji Burger.

Kuroko chuckled a bit, "hmm, I'm pretty sure Kise could wait another hour or two" Kagami looked at him thinking that Kise probably couldn't wait that long. The blonde was always asking for Kuroko, texting him stuff like _how's Kuroko?,_ or _has he eaten yet?_. Kise always sounded like a worried boyfriend, but Kagami could never figure out why… Kuroko continued, once again interrupting his thoughts, "Besides, I really do feel like something's been bothering you. Ever since your father came back you've seemed a bit listless, I cant help but be a bit worried". Kagami was a bit surprised by what Kuroko had said because he was absolutely right. Ever since his father came back from America, he has been unreasonably restless.

* * *

_Last night_

Kagami sat in his room watching reruns of his favorite basketball games, jumping off his bed every now and then from the intensity it brought him. There may not be any trouble watching the games, but Kagami had a ton of homework that still needed to be done. Unfortunately all this work was long abandoned, resting on top of his desk that was later pushed aside because he kept bumping into it whenever he would jump out of his bed. After the game ended he flumped onto the bed "Ahhh man, I could watch that game over and-" he was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening. He was confused on who could have entered his home, since he lived alone. Was it a burglar? Kagami slowly approached the door of his room, carefully creaked the door open and peaked out of the small opening. Kagami's eyes widened to see who had entered his home. There was a tall man with silky crimson hair that was combed back with only a few strands dangling onto his face. The man noticed him peaking through the door, and with a seemingly forceful smile and welcoming tone the man exclaimed, "Taiga! Don't just stand there, why don't you come and give your father a hug. It has been so long since we last met." Kagami only stared at him for a moment, but then exited his room and approached his father, who was still standing by the front door. His father was about 7in taller than he was, so he had to look up at him.

"…Welcome home dad" Kagami said in an unenthusiastic tone. Since Kagami didn't seem to want to intiate a hug, his father decided to do it himself and gave his son a very constricting hug. Without loosening his grip he began to bombard Kagami with questions, but Kagami wasn't listening too much to anything being asked of him, that is until one question caught his attention. "So how's school? You keepin' your grades up?" He could feel his father staring at him, waiting for an answer. Being the president of Kaga&amp;co, his father was very strict about Kagami's grades. Ever since he was little, it was always about his grades. It didn't matter if he did something else amazingly well, if his grades were no good, then he was no good. Kagami felt a cold sweat beginning to trickle down his neck, remembering the unfinished homework he has sitting on the desk in his room. He felt his father's grip around him tighten; he was becoming impatient.

"…Hey, Taiga, why aren't you answering me?" his voice colder than it was before. Kagami wasn't sure how to respond. In all honesty, he wasn't doing very well in class. He would always fall asleep and just struggled with the material in general, but he obviously couldn't tell his dad that. So he just decided to play it safe, "School's fine, nothing really out of the ordinary". His father just stared at him, but he eventually let go of Kagami. "…Well if that's what you say then I guess it's ok. I'm going to head off to bed now, the flight to Japan is much longer than I remember". His father let out a light chuckle and walked towards his room while stretching his upper body, "goodnight" his father said in an amused tone before entering his room. Kagami just stood there for a while, pondering on his father's attitude. He didn't like it. His father spoke as if he didn't believe a word he said. "I shouldn't worry about it to much…but more importantly I should finish my homework…" Kagami muttered to himself. He entered his room, sat in front of his desk and started the math homework that was there. Well he wasn't really starting it; it was more like staring at it. "Find the area of the ellipse…the hell, how do you even do this?" He couldn't check his notes because he didn't have any; he was always asleep in class so he never had the time to write any. Becoming impatient, he just decided to look for the answers on the Internet and copy those down. After everything was done he immediately laid on his bed and fell fast asleep.

* * *

Kuroko stared at Kagami waiting for an answer. Kagami finally opened his mouth and responded "basketball practice has just been a bit tiring lately, that's all". Kuroko's eyes squinted a bit indicating that he didn't believe what Kagami had said, but the light blue haired boy decided not to pursue it any longer.

"…Well I think I better head off now. I think Kise has waited long enough" Kuroko said as he pointed at the phone showing the amount of text messages and missed calls.

"I told you he couldn't wait long. You better hurry to him before he gets a heart attack haha" Kuroko gave a faint smile, and waved goodbye as he left the burger joint. Kagami got up right after Kuroko left and threw away his trash before making his way home.

* * *

By the time Kagami arrived home it had already gotten pretty dark. He unlocked the door and walked into his home, taking his shoes off before entering the living room. His father was quietly sitting on the couch with a bottle of whiskey that was already half empty. His father didn't drink often, but when he did Kagami knew it wasn't a good sign. "I'm home," Kagami quietly muttered. There was no response. Kagami didn't like the way the atmosphere felt, so he quickly tried to go to his room, but he stopped when he heard the sound of someone getting up from the couch and approaching him. He turned around to see his father right in front of him. With slightly dazed eyes his father simply said, "You know Taiga, I don't like it when people lie to me". Kagami felt his heart sink, as he already knew what was coming next.


	2. Chapter 2

_I don't like it when people lie to me_. Those words kept circling Kagami's mind. He didn't recall telling a lie recently, although, he did tell a few white lies, but nothing major. His father approached him further, closing the gap between them. Kagami braced himself, expecting a blow to his face, since his dad would normally get a bit violent whenever he drank. Kagami just stood there waiting for it to happen, but after a few seconds of waiting nothing came. He slowly opened his eyes and noticed his father had no intention of hitting him; he just looked immensely frustrated. His dad began to speak, "Your teacher called me earlier to day. She said that your grades were falling and the recent math homework you turned in had no work attached to it, which means that you had copied it. I thought you said you were doing fine in school, but you're obviously not".

Without thinking Kagami talked back, "Well what was I supposed to do?! Tell you that my grades suck and I'm barely passing. I can't help it, I don't understand anything!".

His father became very agitated at what he had said, "Are you stupid?! If you don't understand the material how about you stop sleeping in class and pay attention for once; or maybe you can ask questions when you don't understand something. Is that so hard to do? Don't be complaining about not understanding the material when there are obvious ways to fix that."

Kagami understood what his father was saying, but he wasn't too fond of the way he said it, "Can't you put that in a nicer way? You don't have to make me sound so stupid…".

The man smirked and looked down on Kagami, "A nicer way? Do you honestly think you deserve that? You can't do anything yourself, that's why I always have to give you the answers. However, I'm done helping you. I don't need to help anyone as pathetic as you. I can't even rely on you to succeed the company." Kagami was seriously getting pissed. Pathetic? He was not pathetic. Someone who chases after what they want until they get it is not pathetic, and what was this about succeeding the company?

"I was never planning on succeeding the company" Kagami's thoughts slipped out and he quickly covered his mouth knowing that that was something his father certainly didn't want to hear.

The man just stared at him, his face burning with anger, "If you weren't planning on succeeding the company, then what were you planning on doing about your future?"

"Basketball of course!" Kagami quickly replied.

"Basketball? Ahhh yes, I remember you liking basketball, but I figured it'd be something you'd grow out of" His father said looking up at the ceiling. The hell? Why in the world would Kagami grow out of basketball? It was what he loved ever since he was a kid; basketball was his life, it was what he was good at. And his father just outright told him that he thought he'd grow out of it.

"What's so wrong with wanting to do what you love?!" Kagami protested.

His father made eye contact with him and with a stern tone he said "Doing what you love? Don't be so naïve. Do you really think you can gain a stable career with basketball? Don't joke with me."

This pushed Kagami over the line, "How could you say something like that?! Isn't there-" Kagami abruptly stopped speaking when his father shook his hand in his face, indicating that he didn't want to argue anymore. Before Kagami stormed off to his room he gave his father a well-deserved glare. He flopped on to his bed and buried his face into the pillow. How? How could his father say such cruel words with no hint of emotion in his eyes? "I don't get it" Kagami muttered right before dozing off to sleep.

* * *

Kagami sat in his desk, pondering over the events from last night. He didn't want to think about it, but it just bothered him so much. He was used to his father saying harsh words, but last night was too much. He kept mulling over the thought until class was over. "Ah, I forgot to take notes again today" he whispered to himself. A voice spoke behind him, "You can borrow mine". Kagami immediately turned around, surprised to see Kuroko staring right at him.

"K-Kuroko, you shouldn't sneak up on people like that. You'll seriously end up killing someone from the shock".

"I'm pretty sure that's unlikely and besides I tried to greet you, but you weren't responding" the light blue-haired boy explained to him. They walked towards the locker room chatting for a bit. "Kagami-kun you still seem to be deep in thought. Is it about your father again?" Kuroko asked.

"Ya, he's throwing more insults than usual so it's bothering me a bit more than it should" that wasn't everything that was bothering him, but Kagami thought that it was fine to tell him that much.

Kuroko just stared at him a bit longer, "Well if that's what you say. Just make sure those insults don't get to you okay?".

"I sure as hell wont!" Kagami smiled at Kuroko.

"Why aren't you guys dressed yet!?" They looked up to see Hyuga, who was already dressed for practice.

"Well we-" Kuroko immediately cut Kagami off

"We were just about to get changed" Kuroko responded.

Hyuga sighed and told them "Well hurry up, I heard coach was planning on making practice 100 times more difficult than usual today. So try not to be late, I wouldn't want her to add any more conditioning." After he said that both Kagami and Kuroko quickly changed out and headed to the gym.

* * *

It was true. Practice was difficult today. A majority of it was conditioning because Riko said we were lacking stamina after our game with Rakuzan, which was true. "But she didn't have to put in this much!" Kagami yelled as his sweat dripped off his skin. Everyone seemed to have heard him, especially coach. She blew here whistle and yelled, "okay you guys, do another 3 laps!". Everyone groaned and stared at Kagami, but Kiyoshi seemed to be laughing.

* * *

After practice ended Kuroko came up to Kagami, "Please don't do anything like that ever again".

Kagami quickly retaliated, "I didn't mean to say it out loud!" He felt the rest of the team's menacing stares behind him. He turned around and looked towards all of them, "I didn't mean to! It was an accident! Geez…" Kagami said sounding somewhat apologetic. Everyone began to laugh. "W-what's so funny?" Kagami slightly blushed.

Kiyoshi approached him and placed his hand on his head, "We're just glad we got to run an extra 3 laps". They were all teasing him. He ignored all their comments, grabbed his stuff and left the gym. Before he was out of sight he heard everyone yell out to him, "Be sure to come tomorrow! And don't mess up like today!". Kagami just turned around for a bit, seeing everyone smiling and waving him goodbye. "Geez, they just don't know when to stop" Kagami chuckled to himself.

* * *

Kagami did not feel like going home at the moment so he went over to the outdoor court that was a couple blocks away from his place. There normally wasn't anyone on the court around this time, but he was surprised to see someone there for once. As he walked closer he noticed who it was there. Aomine was casually dribbling the ball around the court occasionally shooting lay ups. Kagami had an idea pop into his head. Maybe he could sneak up on him and scare him. Haha that'd be a sight so see. Kagami attempted to sneak his way towards Aomine, but was immediately caught. "The hell you doing?" the tanned skinned teen asked him.

"N-nothing…I was just…walking" Kagami nervously replied.

"Hmm well if that's what you wanna call that" Aomine started to laugh a bit. Everyone just wanted to tease Kagami today. Changing the subject Kagami asked him "So why are you here? No one is ever here at this time".

Aomine just shrugged his shoulders, "No, particular reason, I just felt like going out for a bit". There was a brief pause for a while. "Hey, how bout a one on one since you're here?" Aomine asked. Kagami was certainly tired from practice, but he didn't want to go home quite yet.

"Ya sure, but I'm gonna win this one" Kagami proclaimed.

Aomine smirked, "We'll see about that".


	3. Chapter 3

Kagami crouched down onto the court's ground, catching his breath. "It's getting late, why don't you go home already?" Aomine asked.

Kagami ignored him, "One more round!"

"…I'm too tired for another round and besides it's almost one in the morning. Aren't your parents gonna wonder where you are?" Aomine sighed.

Kagami's eyes wandered a bit, "I don't feel like going home right now" he pouted.

"What are you doing? Running away from home? Are you a kid or something?" Aomine said jokingly. "Would you rather stay at my house? haha"

Kagami silently stood up and went to pick up his bag, "Ya, sure."

Aomine was surprised by the red head's response. He knew something was wrong with Kagami, he was playing like he did back in their first game they played against each other; just flat out reckless. It was no fun like that, but it's not like he expected for him to actually agree. "O-oi! Kagami. You can't be serious. There's no way you'd actually wanna stay at my place"

"Well it's better than being at my place."

Aomine sighed, "Fine, but don't blame me if there's something you don't like"

* * *

Kagami sat at the dinner table, staring at the cup of noodles in front of him. He looked up at Aomine, who was already almost finished with his.

"Do you always eat these for dinner?" Kagami asked.

With a full mouth Aomine responded, "Hm, well not all the time. My mom would normally make the meals, but my parent's are on their anniversary trip right now" The blue haired teen then swallowed his food, "What are you complaining now?"

"…No, but you know these are really bad for your health. Do you have any idea how much sodium are in these?!" Kagami said, still not touching his food.

Aomine just stared at Kagami and pointed his chopsticks at him, "I don't think you should be the one to tell me what's healthy and what's not. Kurokos told me about your binge eating at Maji Burger."

Kagami blushed, "B-binge eating?! I'm just hungry that's all! One or two burgers isn't enough to satisfy me!"

"Calm down, I'm just teasing you" Aomine finished his food and got up from the table. "Well, I think it's about time you go home."

"Huh?! I thought I was sleeping over! And isn't it to late for me to go home anyway, it'd be more convenient for me to stay the night." Kagami protested.

Aomine sighed, "Come on, it wasn't like I was serious about you staying the night. Just go home alrea-" Aomine was suddenly cut off.

"I said I didn't wanna go home! What's so wrong with me staying here! I'd rather put up with your annoying bickering than my-" Kagami suddenly stopped midway through his sentence, noticing that he had almost told Aomine about was going on with his dad. Kagami just sat there not making eye contact with Aomine.

This peaked the blue haired teen's interest. To see Kagami so determined to stay away from home was sort of a turn on. …Turn on? Aomine was surprised by what he had just thought. Ya, he thought Kagami was interesting, but potential fap material? Hell no! That's disgusting!

Kagami stared at Aomine, who had a sour look on his face. "A-anyway, just let me stay over, it's more convenient that way". Kagami said.

It took Aomine a while until he processed what Kagami had said, "A-ah, ya I guess that's fine….b-but your sleeping on the couch! And don't even dare going to sleep without taking a bath, I don't want my couch smelling like your gross self". Aomine tried to act _cool_ (or as his usual self) so that Kagami wouldn't ask him about what he was thinking.

"I don't smell that bad…and besides why do I have to sleep on the couch, aren't I the guest here?" Kagami asked while sniffing himself.

"You practically invited yourself. There's no reason to treat you as a guest"

"You have no manners at all" Kagami mumbled to himself.

Aomine heard what Kagami said under his breath, but quite frankly he didn't feel like arguing anymore, "Well if you're complaining about my manners then I guess you can take a bath first, but you have to ready it yourself".

"Well I guess that's fine" Kagami got up from the couch and started to walk in some random direction, "But uh…could you tell me where your bathroom is?". Aomine pointed at the end of hall.

* * *

Kagami sat in the tub looking up at the ceiling. Thank goodness Aomine didn't pursue the matter of him not wanting to go home too much, Kagami thought to himself. It's not as though he's against talking about it, but he didn't think Aomine was the person to talk to about it. Kuroko is basically the only person he somewhat feels comfortable with (although he does receive unhelpful advices from him every now and then). Kagami and Aomine didn't speak to each other very often. The only times they'd talk is whenever they bumped into each other, but they would only talk about basketball. Today is actually the first time they've had somewhat of a conversation. Kagami sighed and relaxed himself a bit more, "but I'm more surprised by the fact that I didn't mind staying here" he said under his breath. It's true that it wouldn't be that bad going home, ya his dad may throw a smart remark at him every now and then, but it's not like he couldn't deal with it. The thing is sometimes it's just too much; no matter how much he may grow accustom to his dad, it still hurts every now and then. But the thing that baffled him the most is why his dad is so disgusted by his presence. Isn't it a father's job to cherish his child? What did he do wrong? Why can't his father love him like a normal father should? The thoughts invade Kagami's mind every now and then, and quite frankly they are his true feelings; no matter how many times he may say he hates his father, there's a spot in his heart that loves him and just wants his father to feel the same way. "What are these depressing thoughts?" Kagami said to himself while lifting himself out of the tub. He went to grab a towel, but he remembered Aomine never gave him one…Kagami sighed, "Now what?"

* * *

Aomine sat on the couch with the tv on, except his mind wasn't on the tv it was on Kagami's behavior. He wasn't all that different from normal, but Aomine can clearly see the slight shift in his personality. He knew Kagami was hiding something, especially when Kagami snapped at him, telling him he wasn't going to go home. But why? Aomine was so curious, even if he didn't want to care he couldn't help but what to know why. "He was so desperate…" Aomine said. He started to remember the expression Kagami had. The way the red head's eyes burned with determination. He loved that look on Kagami….wait, what? No no no no no no no no, there's no way Aomine felt any attraction towards Kagami, everything is just out of curiosity…ya curiosity. Aomine was trying to get his mind straight, until a wonderful set of boobs on the tv caught his attention. "Yes…..boobs are forever the best…the bigger the better hehe" Aomine started to laugh a bit, "like I'd feel anything for that idiot". Aomine just kept laughing until he heard someone's voice behind him.

"The hell you doing, laughing while there's a set of tits on the tv. I mean I knew you were a pervert but I didn't think it was this bad". Aomine turned around to see Kagami, but was caught off guard to see him wearing nothing except for a small hand towel that barely fit around his hips.

"Who gave you permission to walk around my house like?!" Aomine shouted feeling a little embarrassed to see Kagami's bare body.

"Well I got out of the bath and forgot you never gave me towel so I tried looking for one, but I only found this hand towel. I thought this would be fine, but I would really like a towel, so I'm here asking for one" Kagami explained.

Aomine abruptly got up, grabbed a towel, threw it at Kagami and went straight into his room, closing the door… (Aomine spent the rest of the night looking at pictures of his favorite models).

Kagami stood there confused for a second and turned off the tv. "Well that was surprising" Kagami chuckled. Aomine probably didn't realize it, but he was obviously embarrassed, his face was burning red. Kagami found that a bit cute. Kagami yawned and started to get ready for bed, throwing on a t-shirt and some boxers. Lying on the couch he thought maybe Aomine's company isn't so bad if it meant seeing him all flustered. Kagami felt his eyelids become heavier and he slowly began to fall asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Kagami woke up to the buzzing of his phone. Still half asleep he checked to see who had texted him. "Hmm…Kuroko?" Kagami tiredly said. He opened up the message. _Where did you go last night? I went over to your place and your dad told me you weren't home._

Oh yeah, last night he didn't go home…where did he go again? Scratching his head, he looked around the unfamiliar room. He then looked down to see that he didn't have any blankets…Ah! It finally clicked. He ran into Aomine at the court last night and ended up staying over at his place. When he finally remembered that, he replied to Kuroko's message, briefly explaining what happened. "He's gonna be so shocked that I'm here" Kagami chuckled. He then got up from the couch and moved to the kitchen, searching for something to eat. He searched the pantry, the fridge, even all the cabinets. There wasn't anything to eat. "What the hell does he eat in the morning?" Kagami quietly asked himself. However, after a second inspection, Kagami found some eggs, flour, milk, and sugar. "Well I can make something with these. I don't think he'll mind me using his kitchen". As he was about to begin, he heard the buzzing of his phone, he pulled the small cell phone out of his short's pocket and saw that Kuroko replied to his message. _You're seriously at Aomine-kun's._ Kagami chuckled at his friend's response.

_Yes, why would I lie about something like that haha. _Kagami sent the message.

_I see._ Was all Kuroko replied with. Kuroko was always so monotone in his messages. It was hard to tell what he was thinking, but he's practically like that in person. "I'll just talk to him later today when we go running" Kagami sighed, "Well time to make some breakfast".

* * *

Aomine woke up to a slightly sweet scent reaching his nose. He stretched his limbs before getting out of bed. He then walked over to the closet and rummaged through the stack of clothes, looking for a pair of pants to put on. After putting on the pants he found, he walked out of his room and walked towards the source of the scent. He found himself walking into the kitchen. Not only did he see a stack of delicious pancakes, but Kagami was standing in front of the stove, diligently making the pancakes. Out of curiosity, Aomine walked over towards the red head to see if he was really the one making these.

"What are you doing?" Aomine curiously asked.

Kagami jumped a little since he didn't notice Aomine walk into the room, but he quickly settled down. "Making breakfast; you have no food" The red head stated.

"Oh, I normally run to the convenience store in the morning to grab breakfast…but anyway, what are you making?" Aomine just stared at Kagami's hands, observing the way he was making the pancakes.

"I'm making some pancakes, what else does it look like?" Kagami teased.

"Oh~ looks good" Aomine seemed very curious to what the red head was doing. Kagami took notice of this and decided to tease the blunette a little.

"Ah, did you think I was making some for you too?"

Aomine quickly lifted his head "You're not making me any?!" he looked disappointed.

"I'm joking! You should see the look on your face haha. And besides, you let me spend the night so I might as well repay you"

"Don't joke like that…" Aomine pouted. "Also, you technically let yourself stay here" he quietly added.

"Do you want food or not" The red head stared at him.

Aomine opened his mouth as if here were going to say some smart comeback, but gave into his hunger, "Yeah…I want some".

* * *

"This is surprisingly delicious" Aomine said with a full mouth, "Do you always eat stuff like this?"

"Yeah most of the time, it's expensive to go out and eat all the time" Kagami explained.

"Hmm~" Aomine swallowed his food, "So when are you leaving?"

Not caring about the sudden change in topics, Kagami answered, "After I eat I guess. The teams going running over at a trail today around 2 for practice today."

"You guys take things too seriously"

"I think you're just a slacker" The red head chuckled.

"Shut up" Aomine hissed.

* * *

The red head gathered his things and made his way to the front door and proceeded to put his shoes on. Kagami then opened the door "Ok well I think I'll be going now"

"Oh, wait a second!" Aomine ran up to him. "Why don't we exchange numbers?"

"Huh?" Kagami lifted an eyebrow.

"Well umm…I noticed something was bothering you last night when we were playing basketball. Honestly I wanted to ask you about it, but I thought it'd be better to keep quite. You obviously just wanted to relieve some of your stress so you were playing very…recklessly" the blunette explained. "If we exchanged numbers we can meet up and play basketball or something" he continued.

Kagami was surprised that Aomine had noticed the change in his behavior. Actually he was even more surprised that Aomine almost seemed a bit…worried?

"Well I guess that's fine" the red head hesitantly responded.

The two gave each other their phones and entered in their numbers.

"Don't you think I'm worrying about you though! It gets boring playing basketball alone you know."

Kagami laughed. _It sounds like he's contradicting himself_ he thought to himself. "Ok, ok you're not worrying about me" He said sarcastically. Aomine just glared at him.

The two waved goodbye to each other. Aomine closed the door as Kagami walked off into the distance. Aomine started to make his way to bathroom and take a nice relaxing morning shower, but stopped to see the horrendous sight that rested in the kitchen, "that fucker purposely left me with the dishes…"

* * *

"Kagami-kun!" The light blue haired boy came running towards Kagami.

"I see you finally caught up" Kagami joked.

Their basketball team was currently running a "trail". A "trail" is what Coach told them, but this is a god damn mountain! They've been going up hill this whole time and they still needed to back downhill. Yeah, they've finally reached the top, but at what cost…

"Please don't joke about that Kagami-kun. I used up all my energy just to get up here" Kuroko said still catching his breath.

"It's ok haha, I had some trouble getting up here too. So what's up?"

Kuroko stood up straight, "Don't you have something to explain to me?"

Kagami just looked at him for a bit…"Oh yeah, about Aomine. Well I basically already texted you what happened earlier today".

"I know, but I just can't believe that Aomine-kun would willingly let you stay at his place" Kuroko said.

"…Well I kinda invited myself…but yeah, it wasn't like awkward or anything though. It's not like we argued the whole time or anything like that" the red head explained, "But that asshole didn't give me a blanket to sleep with…" he quietly added.

Kuroko stared at him as if he were trying to hold back his laughter, "…Well…um…if you say so, I'm quite happy that you to got along".

"Don't make it sound so suspicious!" Kagami stammered.

"I'm kidding, but I really do think it's good that you two get along. You can learn a few things from him, about basketball of course" Kuroko chuckled.

Kagami didn't reply to that. He wanted to say he already knew everything, but he knew he could learn some things from Aomine, but he wasn't ready to openly admit that.

"Kagami~ Kuroko~! We're going to eat right now!" Furihata shouted at them from a distance. The two walked over to Furihata and followed him to where the rest of the team was.

* * *

The Seirin basketball team gathered around the table with their food, that was thankfully delivery, in front of them. With watering mouths, they were about to dig in, but Riko had an announcement to make.

"You all know that the inter-highs are coming up right," she began "This is no time to be slacking off! Starting tomorrow, we will have 4 hour practices everyday rather than the typical 2 hour a day practices!" She declared with a huge grin on her face.

Some of the team groaned at the idea, but they all knew practice was essential if they wanted to win this year.

"Also, depending on how hard you guys work, will determine how many days off you get before game day. You can get up to 7 days off. Now doesn't that sound nice?" Riko added.

That excited the team, since Coach hardly ever gives them days off. Mitobe and Koganei were quietly getting pumped up while Hyuuga suspected that Riko was bluffing. Everyone else just wanted to eat their food…

"OK, well now that what needs to be said has been said, let's eat!"

* * *

Kagami and Kuroko walked home together since they lived in the same direction. The two weren't saying much since they were still a bit exhausted from their run. They quietly walked along the road while the day was slowly coming to an end.

"Kagami-kun?" Kuroko broke the silence between them. "If you don't mind me asking, I was wondering if you were going to invite your dad to the games".

"Huh?!" Kagami was taken aback by that question. "Why the hell would I? It's not like he'd want to go anyway…"

"You want your father to acknowledge you, correct?" Kuroko asked bluntly.

"Ah…yeah" Kagami hesitantly answered.

"Well then I think you should ask him. If basketball is what you're passionate about, then you should give him the opportunity to see just how passionate and good you really are".

Kagami stopped walking and thought about what Kuroko said, "…Do you really think he'll acknowledge me?"

Kuroko smiled a bit and walked over to his friend, "I know he will, because when I first saw how much you loved basketball, I was inspired. No matter what challenge laid before you, you faced it head on. I believe if your father were to see that, not only will he acknowledge you, but he will accept you".

The red head stared at Kuroko, amazed by his words. However, thoughts of doubt clouded his mind. _Would that really work? Will his father even decide to go? What if he messes up? What if he just doesn't care? _Kagami cringed by these thoughts.

Noticing the hesitant look on Kagami's face, Kuroko pushed him, snapping him back to reality. "You need more confidence" was all the light blue haired boy said with a warm smile on his face. Kagami looked to the ground, _maybe everything really is gonna be ok_. The red head smiled, "Thanks Kuroko". After things settled down, the two once again started to walk home.

"Kurokocchi~!" There was a faint voice coming from behind them. The two turned around only to see a tall blonde running with all his might to catch up to them. The man finally caught up to them, leaning down while catching his breathe.

"Kise-kun, what are you doing here?" Kuroko seemed surprised.

"I happened to be in the area for a photo-shoot, and I saw you guys so I ran…" Kise laughed while rubbing his head. "Ah yes, ummm…Kagamicchi, if you don't mind, I'll be stealing him for the rest of the day" the blonde declared as he took hold of Kuroko.

"Okay, I guess?" Kagami was just confused by the current situation.

Immediately after Kagami gave a reply, Kise ran away with Kuroko. "He still sticks to him like glue" Kagami chuckled.

* * *

"I'm home" Kagami said while removing his shoes. He walked into the living room and saw that his father was still doing some paperwork. So he quietly crept into the bathroom, trying not to get his father's attention.

The red head undressed himself and entered the shower. Turning on the warm water, he began to think of the conversation he and Kuroko had. How should he invite his father? It's actually a lot harder than it seemed. His father was barely approachable and just imagining the response he might get from him made it even harder. "Kuroko makes everything seem like a simple task" he sighed. He turned off the water and reached for his towel before exiting the shower.

Kagami turned off the lamp that was resting on his nightstand before slumping onto his bed. As he laid there, he felt his body relax and his eyelids beginning to grow heavy. He was about to doze off until he heard the buzzing of his phone. He lazily grabbed the phone and checked to see who had the crazy idea of bothering him at this time. The light from his phone glared in his eyes, since he was sitting in the dark, so he adjusted the brightness. When he could finally see everything more clearly, he was surprised to who's name was displayed on the screen: _Aomine_.

* * *

**Author notes**

**So I've finally figured out how to do these note things...**

**Well I finally made a chapter that is a least 2000 words long! It took me a while to write this though cuz I was still tryna figure out how to progress the story, since last chapter was basically just Aomine and Kagami. But we'll see what happens from here. **

**As always I appreciate you guys taking the time to read my story. And I very much enjoy reading the comments and advice you guys leave me ^u^ **

**Feel free to comment your thoughts about this chapter or story in general. And have a nice day/evening/night/or maybe you've lost track of time!**


	5. Chapter 5

Aomine walked up the series of steps and opened the door at the end of them and was greeted by a cool breeze. The blunette loved resting on the school's rooftop; it was a place where he didn't need to think of anything. All he needed to do was close his eyes and let the breeze serenade him. However today, he wasn't here to relax; he wanted to think about a few things for once. He walked towards the back wall from the door, climbed up the ladder and rested his back against the warm cement, folding his arms behind his head while staring at the clear blue sky above him. He closed his eyes and began to think about the events that took place last night.

* * *

_Last night_

Aomine sat on his bed flipping through a sports magazine. "So boring" he sighed. Technically he should be trying to sleep since there was school tomorrow, but quite frankly, he didn't feel like sleeping. But what's the point of not going to sleep when you're not even sure what to do? "Maybe there's someone interesting to talk to" he said while scrolling through the contacts on his phone. He didn't have many numbers saved on his phone. It mainly consisted of his Teiko teammates, his current teammates, Satsuki, his parents, and Kagami… Surprisingly, Kagami seemed like the most interesting person to talk to at the moment. The blunette clicked on Kagami's name and typed a very simple message, '_Hey'._

_It wasn't bad to text him right?_ Aomine thought to himself. Ever since his defeat back at last year's winter cup, they've gotten along better. At least that's what Aomine thought. They definitely weren't as hostile towards each other as before. His thoughts were immediately silenced when his phone buzzed. He frowned when he opened the message.

'_What do you want?' _was all it contained.

A bit ticked off by the contents of the message, the blunette replied, '_The hell! What do you mean, 'what do you want'?! Can't I start a conversation for fuck's sake'_.

Ten minutes passed and Aomine was sure he wasn't gonna get a reply. The blunette's phone buzzed and he practically lunged for it. Upon reading the message, Aomine couldn't help but smile.

'…_So what's up?' _was all the red head replied with.

'_Nothing. I didn't feel like sleeping and I got bored. What about you?'_

'_Same'._

This conversation was off to a bad start. Kagami just kept sending one-worded replies. Aomine sat there wondering to himself, _How can I get him to send more lengthy messages…?_

"Oh, I know!" the blunette shouted. He started to type the message, '_You make anything good today?'_

After a couple minutes, Kagami sent a reply, '_Nah, I just went to Maji Burger with Kuroko today'._ The blunette was a little disappointed; he wanted to know what other delicious dishes the red head could make.

'_You and Kuroko sure do hang out with each other a lot'._ Aomine replied.

'_Well yeah, we're best friends after all'._ Was the immediate response he got.

Changing the subject, the blunette typed in, '_Hey, you wanna play some basketball tomorrow night at around 9? I need something to do'._

'_I'm not here to entertain you!' _Was all Kagami sent.

Feeling a bit dejected, he began to type in his reply, but Kagami sent him another message before he could send it, '_But I wouldn't mind playing some basketball'_, was all it read.

Chuckling, Aomine sent the red head a reply, '_Well then I'll see you tomorrow'._

'_Yeah, see you tomorrow. Goodnight'._

The blunette turned of the light of his room, not seeing the need to send a goodnight follow-up text. While positioning himself in his bed, he began to think. _Maybe becoming better friends with Kagami wasn't so bad; it almost feels as if my life would become more interesting with someone like him in my life._ The blunette let out a faint smile before closing his eyes.

* * *

Aomine opened his eyes and was greeted by a not so blue sky. "Where did these clouds come from?" he asked himself. "Nevermind that, did I actually fall asleep?" The blunette pulled out his phone and checked the time. _12pm._ "Ah…I slept through second and third period," he let out a sigh, "I'm guessing Satsukis' gonna come looking for me". He repositioned himself, forcing himself to sit up. He looked back up to the cloudy skies, "seems like it might rain later…" he quietly said to himself. _Will our meet up be canceled?_ The thought came to mind. "Nah, rain or shine, I wanna play him." He scratched his head, "I might be getting a strange addiction to his basketball." Aomine started to laugh hysterically, "How stupid…". After he had collected himself, the door underneath his slammed open.

"Dai-chan!" silky pink hair came into his view followed by a very upset facial expression. "I knew you'd be up here!" She yelled.

"When am I not here, Satsuki" Aomine calmly responded.

"Would you get down here already! You've already missed two of your classes" she pouted.

Aomine sighed and gave her a slight glance, noticing she was getting a little frustrated, "Fine, fine, I'm coming" he said while climbing down the ladder, moving towards her position. She started walking towards the door, guiding him to his class.

"You better not skip any more of your classes. Your grades are bad enough" Satsuki scolded him.

"Yeah, yeah"

* * *

"Ok you guys, one more lap!" Hyuuga yelled.

"Osu!" The whole team shouted.

They started their last lap around the school building, trying to see who can finish first.

* * *

Everyone finished their lap, Mitobe being the first to finish. They all entered the gym and saw Riko waiting for them. The team was afraid of what she was going to say because of the smile on her face, but thankfully that was not the case.

"Good practice everyone! Now let's do some stretching, then that's it for the day!" she commanded.

Everyone gathered into a circle and began to do stretches that focused on many parts of the body. While reaching for their toes, one of them shouted, "I'm so excited for the inter-highs~!" Everyone looked up to see that it was Furihata who yelled that out.

"Isn't everyone" Hyuuga said while trying to be cool.

"Of course everyone is excited" Kiyoshi agreed with a smile.

"You better be ready!" Kagami smirked, giving Furihata a thumbs up.

Kuroko and Mitobe quietly nodded their heads in agreement.

"Well then, on that note let's end practice!" Hyuuga proclaimed while everyone put their hands together in the center of their circle.

"Seirin! Fight!" everyone shouted with excitement.

Riko came in from behind them. "Ok guys, in order to celebrate everyone's hard work, I made you all a little something". Everyone froze when they laid their eyes on what was displayed on the tray. Protein shakes…

"Oh and one last thing. You can't leave until you drink every last drop of it" she smiled as she passed out a drink to everyone.

The team stared at the foreign substance, wondering if they were going to survive through the night. That is until they heard someone take a sip. Everyone turned their heads to see that Kuroko had already started drinking his. Kuroko noticed everyone's stares and just told them, "don't you wanna go home?" Upon hearing Kuroko's words, everyone began to drink their shake.

* * *

As the team started to clear the court, Kagami went searching for Kuroko, who was found gathering his things in the locker room.

"Kuroko! Do you wanna come over and study at my place? I completely forgot about the math test tomorrow" Kagami asked worriedly.

"Kagami-kun, that isn't something you should forget" the light blue haired boy said, still putting his stuff together.

"I-I know! It's just, our game is kinda soon, so it just slipped my mind".

Kuroko looked at the red head, completely understanding his reasoning. "You're lucky I have my notes with me" he smiled.

"Thanks Kuroko. You're a life saver" Kagami said relieved.

* * *

Kagami opened the door to his apartment and allowed Kuroko to enter first.

"Did you want anything to drink or snack on?" The red head asked as they took off their shoes and walked towards the living room.

"Do you have any orange juice?" Kuroko asked.

"Yeah, I'll go get you some" Kagami said as Kuroko followed him into the kitchen. As Kagami grabbed the two glasses from the cupboard and poured the juice into them, someone came into the kitchen.

"Hey Taiga, did you—oh! Kuroko it's nice to see you!" The taller red head said with a seemingly fake smile that Kuroko easily noticed.

"It's nice to see you too" Kuroko politely said as he slightly lowered his head.

"So what are you guys doing? Playing some video games? Ah…but there's school tomorrow".

"No. We're gonna study for tomorrow's math test" Kagami quickly answered, trying to get out of the kitchen, but his father was standing in front of the door way.

His father smirked, "Oh~ I'm guessing you're the one who asked him to help you" he pointed at Kagami. "You're so stupid when it comes to anything. It's no surprise that you asked Kuroko for help". He then turned his head towards the light blue haired boy, who was quietly observing the conversation, "But Kuroko, are you sure you wanna help him? He's pretty useless, so I advise that you leave now before he drives you insane".

Kagami looked away from his father, angry that he was saying these kinds of things to Kuroko. Noticing Kagami's expression, the light blue haired boy spoke up, "I don't think that's necessary. You may not know it, but when Kagami sets his mind towards something, he truly is amazing".

The man looked down at Kuroko, his face expressing the anger he felt. "Is that so" he spoke sternly and forcefully, "do what you want". He exited the kitchen and walked down the hall into his office, slamming the door behind him.

Kagami stared at his friend, shocked by the fact that he actually spoke back to his father. "Kuroko you…"

"What? I didn't say anything wrong. I said what I thought" Kuroko explained.

Trying to find the words to say, Kagami laughed. _You truly are amazing _he thought.

He felt Kuroko nudge his arm, "come on we have studying to do".

"Ah man! You're so good at this stuff! I think it's all making sense now" Kagami shouted while diligently jotting down notes.

"I think with this, you should be fine for tomorrow's test" Kuroko told him with a smile.

"You think so?! Ah man…thanks Kuroko. I'm so glad I asked for your help" the red head thanked as he was beaming with excitement.

"You're welcome". Kuroko's face then grew serious, "Do you mind if we talk about something?"

Kagami felt the air become tense. "Yeah, sure".

"It's about your father, I—"

Kagami interrupted him. "Why do you always have to bring him up?! Why can't you just understand that I don't wanna talk about him".

Kuroko looked him directly in the eye, "Kagami-kun, can you just listen to me".

Noticing the seriousness in Kuroko's eyes, the red head settled down.

The boy began to speak again. "You know, I'm still very worried about you. You always say that you're fine, but when I look at you, I see someone who is contradicting himself."

"I'm not contradicting myself!" Kagami drew back a little, but still held a stern face.

Noticing the red head scoot back, Kuroko added, "See it's little things like that. It's almost as if you don't want other people to worry about you".

"Kuroko, I already told you—"

"Kagami-kun". Kuroko stood up and walked towards the red head, forcing him to look up at him, "don't forget about everyone who cares about you. You have the whole team. Please don't keep everything bottled up inside you. You have people to talk to, don't forget that".

Kagami looked away from his friend, "Kuroko…I…I'm sorry for making you feel that way".

"There's no need to be sorry" the boy smiled at him, "I just wanted to remind you that we're all here for you".

The red head made eye contact with Kuroko, but then looked down once again and quietly spoke, "Thanks".

Kuroko put his hand on his friend's shoulder, "As long as you never forget that, you'll be fine". He then checked the time. The clock read 8:30pm. "Well, I think it's about time I take my leave. My parents don't like it when I miss dinner" he chuckled. "You should come and eat with us some time" he added.

Kagami escorted Kuroko to the door. "Thanks for helping me out today. I think I'm feeling a lot better now" the red head spoke.

Kuroko smiled, "You're welcome, I'm always glad to help".

"You're too nice" Kagami chuckled. "I'll see you tomorrow".

Waving goodbye, Kagami closed the door and went back into his room and began to change, since him and Aomine are suppose to meet in fifteen minutes. He went into his closet, grabbed a plain black t-shirt and grey basketball shorts, and threw them on. He began to pack his duffle bag with his basketball shoes and other necessities. He flinched when he heard the sound of his door open.

"Hey Taiga, did Kuroko al—". His father noticed him preparing to go out. "Where are you going?"

Kagami stopped putting his thing together, "Oh, um…me and a friend are gonna go play some basketball over at the nearby court"..

His father let out a heavy sigh, "Again with the basketball shit. When are you gonna realize that you're not going anywhere with that? Just give it up already?"

Upon hearing his father's words, Kagami remembered what Kuroko had told him the night before, _If you give your father the opportunity to see just how passionate and talented you are, I'm sure he'll come to accept you_.

Was this the time to ask him? Will he even agree to go? Kagami clenched his fists and took a deep breath, "Dad, I have something to ask you".

* * *

"Oi! Ahomine! Would you come at me already!" Kagami provoked.

"Shut up! Don't rush me!" Aomine yelled.

As the blunette was beginning to make his move, it started to drizzle, which in seconds became a downpour.

"Tch" Aomine clicked his tongue. "I definitely would've won" he said under his breath.

"Aomine! Don't be stupid and stand under the rain. There's some shelter over there!" The red head shouted as he pointed over to a nearby shed.

Aomine sighed, a bit unamused that he had to sit in there with Kagami for a while. He followed the red head into the shed.

"Oh~ it's actually pretty nice in here" The blunette said as he inspected the area. The walls were painted with an off-white color, there was a mat laid out across the ground, and the tools were nicely organized, leaving more than enough space for the two of them.

"Yeah, I think it was refurbished not to long ago" Kagami said as he settled himself in the corner.

"How do you know that?" the blunette asked he settled himself in the neighboring corner from where Kagami sat.

"I come in here every now and then cuz they have spare basketballs in here sometimes, but anyway, it didn't look this nice until recently" the red head explained.

"I see"

The two sat in silence while the sound of rain panging on the roof filled the room. Aomine was playing a game on his phone and Kagami kept moving around, looking for a comfortable position to sit in. When he finally found a somewhat comfortable position, he pulled out his phone from his bag and started typing something.

A few seconds later, Aomine's phone buzzed. He opened up the message and saw that it was from Kagami, _'what game are you playing?'_

Aomine closed the message and turned towards Kagami, who happened to be staring at him. "I'm right here! If you wanna start a conversation just talk to me! Don't send me some lame message." the blunette yelled.

"Well you seemed to be really focused on your game, so I wasn't sure on how to start a conversation" Kagami shyly explained.

"It doesn't really matter, I'm not really into this game anyway" Aomine said as he put his phone into the pocket of his shorts. "Anyway I'm kinda curious on the way you were playing today. You were all fired up and everything, not that there's anything wrong with that."

Kagami moved closer to Aomine, "Hm…no reason in particular. I guess I'm just a bit excited about the inter-highs".

"Oh yeah, that's in two weeks isn't it?" The blunette laughed, "I'll be sure to crush you even harder than last year".

"Is that a challenge?" Kagami retorted.

After their laughter subsided, the room was once again filled with silence. Feeling the need to keep talking, Aomine said the first thing that came to his mind. "My parents keep making a big deal out of the inter-highs though. There's nothing to be excited about, we always win anyway, nothing new".

"Yeah…" It seemed as if the red head wasn't listening at all.

Noticing this, Aomine decided to ask Kagami a question, "So what about you?"

"What about me?" Kagami asked while he turned his head towards the blunette.

"I mean, what about your parents? Aren't they excited to see you play?"

"Hm…who knows" the red head answered.

"What do you mean 'who knows'? Aren't your parents going?" Aomine asked, becoming suspicious of Kagami's responses.

"Well I did ask my dad earlier today…but I don't know if he'll actually show up".

"Why would you have to ask him? Shouldn't it be a given that he needs to go?"

"I don't know". Kagami's expressions grew emptier.

Aomine sighed, "There's something wrong with that. You seriously shouldn't need to ask him".

"Well…it might be normal" Kagami said while staring up at the ceiling.

Feeling that he should drop the subject, Aomine couldn't help but be curious, "…well if your dad can't go, then why doesn't your mom go?"

Kagami flinched by that question, but he didn't say a word, nor did he dare to look at the blunette.

Aomine looked at the red head, who seemed to be mentally trying to run away. The blunette started to feel awkward. _Maybe I shouldn't have asked that_, he thought to himself.

Since the room remained silent for a good few minutes, the two realized it was no longer raining.

Kagami was the first to stand up and gather his things. "It stopped raining so we can go home".

Aomine quickly got up, put his things together and followed Kagami out of the shed and into the humid air. "Hey Kagami," Aomine began, "You know, you don't have to worry about anything. All you needa do is do what you do best".

Kagami stopped walking and looked over at the blunette, "Are you trying to encourage me?"

Aomine stared at the red head, "I-I just make sure you're on your 'A' game when you play against me!"

Kagami laughed a little, "Oh don't worry, I'll be on my 'A++' game".

"The hell? 'A++ game'. Who even says that?!" the blunette bursted into laughter.

"S-shut up! I thought it sounded good!" Kagami blushed.

"Yeah, yeah".

The two walked together until they needed to part ways. When that time came, they waved goodbye and wished each other good luck for the inter-highs and made a promise to face each other off in their game.

* * *

_2 weeks later_

Seirin exited the van and entered the arena in which the next series off games will be held. Kagami followed the team into the locker room, thinking to himself. _This is where it begins._


	6. Chapter 6

Seirin entered the court and began to warm up for their upcoming game against Kinga High. The team lined up and prepared for their lay up drills.

Kagami looked up into the audience and asked himself, "I wonder if he will actually show up".

* * *

_Two weeks ago_

"Dad, I have something to ask you" The red head nervously said.

His father tilted his head, staring at him, "What is it?"

"…Well you see…our inter highs are in 2 weeks," Kagami took a deep breathe, "So I was wondering if you could maybe come and watch".

"Huh?! Why the hell would I take the time to go watch you play _basketball_!" The man raised his voice; annoyed that Kagami would even ask something like that.

The red head drew back a little, "Y-you always tell me that basketball is a waste of time…but I…I disagree".

"And why is that?"

"Basketball is something important to me and I take it seriously. If you'd come and watch me, I'll show you just how serious I am".

"Hmm…" his father stood still, thinking about what he should do. "Fine, I'll go. But if I don't see this _seriousness_ you're talking about, it's over".

"What do you mean 'it's over'!?" Kagami started to become frantic. "Are you saying I won't play basketball anymore?!"

The man only looked at him, refusing to give Kagami the response he wished for. "I'm going out for a bit; make sure you don't stay out to late~" he teased, while walking out of the red head's room.

"…that bastard…"

* * *

The sound of a loud buzzer went off, filling the whole court, indicating that it was time for the game to start.

Kagami looked through the crowd one last time, searching for his father.

Kagami's eyes widened when he saw the taller red head's silhouette hiding at the very back corner of the stadium.

Kagami smirked, "Well I guess I might as well give all I got".

Kiyoshi noticed Kagami's excitement and approached him.

"You seem fired up" The large man chuckled.

Kagami looked towards his senior, "Well it's only natural"

"I guess you're right" the brunette chuckled.

"Hey, Kiyoshi"

"Hm, what is it?"

"Is it ok if I do the jump ball today?"

Kiyoshi looked a bit surprised, "You really are fired up today". He let out a sigh, "Well if you really want to there's no stopping you".

"Thanks" Kagami said as he jogged to the center of the court.

The referee blew the whistle that hung around his neck.

The two teams went at it like wild animals, however, it didn't take too long for Seirin to gain control of the game.

The game ended in Seirin's victory, with the final score being 80-55.

'_There's no way he wouldn't find this satisfactory' _Kagami thought to himself.

* * *

While the team made their way back to the locker room, Kagami couldn't help but feel the need to confront his father right then and there. So he took off, not saying a word to any of his teammates.

"Hey, where'd Kagami go?" Furihata asked.

The team looked behind them only to see Kuroko trailing them from behind.

"Isn't Kuroko supposed to be the one we lose?" Hyuuga sighed.

* * *

Kagami jogged through the arena, searching for his father. He wandered outside and searched the perimeter. He looked towards a sitting area that was a bit further from the building. Sitting on the bench was the very person he was looking for; the bright red from the man's hair stood out through the greenery that surrounded him. Kagami walked towards him, thinking about what he was going to say; what his father might say. As he slowly closed the distance between them, he noticed the man was on the phone, with work most likely. Kagami stopped when the man turned around, noticing him walking towards him.

The man immediately ended his call and stood up. Piercing red eyes glared at Kagami, "What do you want?"

Kagami took a deep breath, "You saw my last game didn't you"

"Yeah, what about it?"

'_What about it?' _"W-Wasn't my performance acceptable?" Kagami's voice began to waver, "We won by a pretty large gap, and I made some nice dunks. O-Oh and…I even gave my teammates some assists. I mean, I think my performance was up to your standards…"

There was a suffocating silence between the two. Kagami's breathing became tight and he felt his thoughts clashing with themselves. _'Why? Why couldn't I have said it with more confidence? Why does this man have to have such an impact on me?' _As Kagami thoughts were forcefully bringing him down, his father spoke up.

"If you honestly believe _that_ was up to my standards, then you obviously don't understand anything"

Kagami's eyes widened, "What do you mean?! We won didn't we! Isn't that all that matters?!"

"What is this _we_ you're talking about?"

"Huh? My teammates of course"

"And that's your problem"

"…I don't get it"

"You didn't win at all. All I see is someone who's relying too much on other people"

Kagami stared at his father, not sure on whether he should be angry or confused. What was he saying? Aren't teammates essential to any sport?

* * *

"Aw man, I missed their game" Aomine sighed as he walked outside the arena. The blunet decided to come earlier and watch Seirin's game, despite the fact that his game didn't start until an hour. So instead of going back home or staying here and doing nothing, he decided to look for Kagami.

He had already looked inside the building and even ran into some of Seirin's team members, but everyone said that Kagami just ran off somewhere and no one knows where he disappeared to. So now he was looking outside. He checked the outdoor courts to see if the red head was putting in some extra practice, however, he didn't find him there. He then proceeded to check the sitting areas. He first looked at the one closest to the building, but found no luck there. He then walked further down the path towards the other sitting area. As he approached the area, he caught a glimpse of the very red hair he was looking for.

"Oi, Bakaga-!" Aomine started to shout at him, but he quickly withdrew himself when he caught a glimpse of another person with exact same flaming hair. He took a closer look and noticed that the other man resembled Kagami.

"Is that his father?" Aomine asked himself. However, on further inspection the two seemed to be arguing, but not just some petty argument, this one seemed a bit more…serious.

He hid himself behind a tree close enough that he could eavesdrop on their conversation, but far enough so that he wouldn't be spotted.

He was surprised by what he heard.

* * *

"I'm not _relying _on them! We're playing as a _team_! That's how a _team _is supposed to play!" Kagami barked.

His father just shook his head in disagreement. "That team should be relying on _you_. _You_ should be the center of everything, _you_ should be the one to score, and_ you_ should be the one to do everything."

"But that's not how we are!"

The man scratched his head, "Ah, I'm sick of hearing this _we _shit" He paused for a second, "You want my acceptance don't you?"

Kagami froze. That is indeed what he wanted, but is that all he needed to do to gain it? Throw away team play and do whatever _he_ can do to win the game. That didn't sound so hard, given the fact that he's already an outstanding player. However, wouldn't the team be upset with him; wouldn't they be disappointed? On the other hand however, there was the feeling of finally being accepting by his father, which was something he's never experienced before. What would that be like? Would they finally be like father and son? Would their countless arguments finally come to a halt? These thought corrupted Kagami's mind, sucking away any left over reason within him.

His father observed the red head, seeing his conflicting thoughts, but the man knew he was close to breaking him, just one last push. "You know Taiga, it wouldn't be so bad being accepted by me. Just imagine it, that one feeling you long for will finally be yours. Wouldn't you feel complete? You wouldn't need anything to worry about." The man gave a manipulative smile, "But if that's not what you really want, then I guess you can play however you want, but if that's the case, I have no reason to stay here any longer".

"No!" Kagami shouted unconsciously. By this time, his selfishness had already embraced him. It doesn't matter if everyone else rejects him, if he can finally get this man to see him as a worthy son, that's all he needed.

"I'll show you that I'm worthy, I'll show you what kind of man I really am. I'll show you that I can, for a fact, stand on my own feet! You'll be so amazed, there's no way you'll be able to reject me!" Kagami proclaimed, his voice becoming hysterical.

His father smirked, "If that's what you say." He began to make his way back into the arena, "I look forward to seeing your performance. Be sure to do your best, Taiga~".

Kagami stayed standing there until his father was no longer in sight. He checked his phone to see that two of his teammates left messages on his phone. He got a text from Kuroko stating, _'Kagami-kun, it's very inconvenient that you wandered of without telling anyone'._ There was also a message from Hyuuga, _'Oi! Where the hell did you wander off to!'_

"Ah…I did leave without telling anyone…well it's only been like…eh?" Kagami took a closer look at his phone and noticed that nearly an hour has passed. "No wonder they're so flustered, there's another game in 15 minutes."

The red started to walk back towards the building, but he heard a familiar voice call his name.

"Kagami!" A certain blunet walked up to him, "It's about time I found you".

"Eh? Aomine? Why would you be looking for me? Don't you have a game starting at any minute?"

"It doesn't matter, I always show up late anyway. But anyway I came to watch your game, but I seemed to have missed it"

"But you didn't have to watch my game" Kagami said still a bit confused.

"Baka! Did you already forget about our promise" Aomine sighed, "We promised to play against each other, so I came to see my competition".

"Oh yeah that" Kagami chuckled, "I almost forgot about it".

"Well don't forget it! I'll be playing as hard as I can so you better be ready!"

"You think that intimidates me? I'll be playing as hard as I can too! So _you _better be ready!"

The two indulged in their bickering until it fell silent.

"Hey, Kagami…that argument or whatever…what was that all about?" Aomine asked.

Kagami gave a sharp glare, "You saw that?"

"Well when I was looking for you, I kinda just noticed it and it seemed a bit awkward to just interrupt it, so I just waited for you guys to finish".

Kagami stayed silent for a bit. "…Don't worry about it" he said quietly.

Ignoring the words Kagami spoke, the blunet pursued the subject further. "Was that your father? You said before that you weren't sure if he'd show up, but it looks like he actually did." Aomine paused, "But some of the things he said were a bit…"

"I told you not to worry about it!" Kagami yelled. Ignoring Aomine, the red head started to leave. However Aomine wasn't quite done yet.

"Oi Kagami! You know playing selfishly isn't gonna get you anywhere! I know that better than anyone else! I don't know what's going on between you two, but I wouldn't listen to him if I were you!".

Kagami stopped and turned around, giving Aomine direct eye contact. The expression Kagami had sent shivers throughout Aomine's body. Kagami's face was lifeless, not a trace of any sort of emotion on it. The blunet saw this expression once before, it was back when they took shelter from the rain and were talking about Kagami's parents. Why did Kagami have such an expression? What was hiding inside of him?

Aomine jolted when he heard Kagami speak, "Aomine, I told you not to worry about it…besides, I have already made my decision".

That made Aomine worry a bit, "Kagami you-"

Before the blunet could finish his sentence, the red head had already started to walk away, leaving him behind with his conflicting fellings.

"What is this feeling…" Aomine whispered to himself.

* * *

Kagami opened the door to the team's locker room. When he opened the door everyone turned their heads and stared at him. Hyuuga was about to get up up and say something, but Riko came flying towards giving him a huge kick to the side.

"Where were you!? Why in the world would you decide to just leave without telling anyone?! And it's not that you just left, you left for an hour! An hour! Do you know when our next game starts? Oh~ I don't know maybe in…15 minutes!". She calmed herself and took a deep breath, "But as long as you're here that's fine. Just don't make us worry like that".

Kagami looked at all his friends, who all seemed to have agreed with Riko's words. "Sorry guys, I didn't mean to worry you all".

Everyone got up and all surrounded Kagami, giving him pats on the back. "Don't worry about it. As long as you don't do again" Kiyoshi explained.

Kuroko came up to him from behind, "Kagami-kun where did you go anyway?"

"Ah…I went to go talk to someone for a little bit. Oh and I ran into Aomine on my back"

"Aomine-kun was here?"

"Yeah, he said he's looking forward to playing me".

"You mean _us_" Hyuuga corrected.

"Ah…yeah" Kagami averted his eyes.

Kuroko looked at him, suspicious, "Kagami did you-"

"Ah!" Riko yelled. "The game, the game!" She started pushing everyone out the door. "Come on you guys! We gotta go!"

* * *

The team walked onto the wide court and got into their positions. However, Kagami approached Izuki and asked him, "Do you think you could pass the ball a bit to me more?"

Izuki looked up at the red head, "What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"

"I feel like trying something different today" Kagami said with a blank expression.

"…I'll pass to you if you're open".

Kagami agreed with Izuki's reason. '_I just need to stay open'_ Kagami thought to himself.

Immediately after the game had started, Kagami already got the ball in his hands and effortlessly scored a basket. However, that wasn't the issue here. There was something different about the way Kagami was playing. It was like, all he wanted to do was show off. It didn't matter what anyone else did, as long as he was the one who stood out. He outshined his teammates, disregarding their presence. In the end they were still able to win their game, but there were doubts.

When Kagami sneaked a glance at his father, he noticed a more interested look on the man's face. He was doing the right thing. With this he'll be able to have that man's acceptance…and that's all he needed.

* * *

_In the locker room_

"Oi! Kagami! What the hell was that!" Hyuuga yelled at the top of his lungs.

Kagami only looked at him, not sure to what he was talking about. "What do you mean? I was just playing basketball."

By this time Hyuuga was furious. Banging the lockers, he continued yelling at the top of his lungs "You were just playing basketball?! What the hell! You're not the only one playing you know! You completely ignored us and did whatever you wanted! When the hell did you get so selfish?!"

"…Well we won anyway, so it's not like really matters"

Hyuuga approached Kagami, ready to strike the red head's face, but Kuroko held him back.

"Senpai, I don't think that's a good idea" Kuroko explained.

Hyuuga looked at Kuroko and withdrew himself. Still upset about the current situation, he stormed out of the room as Kiyoshi followed him out to calm him down.

"Kagami-kun." Kuroko said in a stern voice. "I don't know what you were thinking back there, but that's not how we play basketball".

Kagami stayed silent.

"I believe I have a good guess to who you went to talk to after our last game, but I wont mention it in front of everyone, but, like I said before, you can always talk to us. You don't need to shoulder such a burden alone. We're all-" Kuroko's eyes widened, seeing the expression on Kagami's face. It was a blank expression, almost as if Kagami himself wasn't there at all. Just a corpse being manipulated. It was something Kuroko never witnessed, and quite frankly, he was at a loss of words.

"Kuroko…I don't know what burden you're speaking of, but this is a decision I made. So I'd appreciate it if you'd let me be".

Kuroko heard what the red head said, but he didn't want to leave him alone. He didn't want Kagami to go through the same things Aomine did. Although the circumstances are different, the idea of isolating himself is the same.

"We have another game to play don't we" Kagami got up and walked towards the door. That is until a small hand held him back.

"Kagami-kun, this isn't the right decision." Kuroko's voice was less confident and more desperate.

The red shook of Kuroko's hand and looked down at him, "I told you to let me be". Without another word, Kagami left the room, leaving everyone to bask in the suffocating silence.

* * *

During their next game, Seirin wasn't able to get into a good rhythm. Everyone was trying their best to get something going, but Kagami wouldn't cooperate. He continued to play as he wanted, but it was worse this time around. Not only was he playing selfishly, but he started stealing the ball from his own teammates. The game was beginning to become hard to watch, even the audience was falling silent. However, the sound of the high-pitched whistle echoed through the silence, stopping everything.

"Sub number 10!" the referee yelled with Furihata standing next to him, ready to enter the game.

Surprised by the sudden decision, Kagami approached Riko without stepping off the court. "Coach, why are you subbing me out?!"

"Your selfish play is bringing down the team. I can't let you stay in any longer" she explained.

"But I'm not done yet!" he yelled.

"And I'm telling you, you're done!" she yelled back.

Kagami drew back, refusing to be subbed out. The referee came running towards Kagami and Riko.

"Number 10 you need to get off the court".

Kagami clenched his teeth. "I'm not being subbed out" he hissed.

The audience fell silent. Everyone watched as the cruel events began to happen down on the court. Everything seemed to be going in slow motion; the referee telling Kagami to sit on the bench, his team telling him the same. All of their voices were ringing in his mind. He was getting sick of it. _Why is everyone getting in my way_?

"Shut up! All of you!" Kagami yelled. "I'm staying in the game and that's that!"

"Kagami just sit down!" one of his teammates told him.

The red head felt a small hand on his arm. "Kagami-kun just sit on the bench" Kuroko lightly nudged him towards the bench.

For some reason, this time around, seeing Kuroko's sincere expression pissed him off beyond belief. He was already irritated in the first place so his emotions got the best of him.

He shoved Kuroko onto the bench. "What part of let me be don't you understand!" He grinded his teeth, "I'm sick of you acting like you know everything! I'm fucking tired of you acting like you know what the right thing to do is! Why don't you just leave me alone!"

Kuroko stared at his friend in disbelief, tears forming at the bottom of his eyes. As the boy opened his mouth prepared to say something, the sound of the whistle cut them off.

"Flagrant foul!" the referee yelled.

Kagami moved his attention to the referee. "Huh?! Why?!"

"For intentionally pushing a teammate".

"But he's not hurt!"

The referee ignored him and continued on with the game.

Flagrant foul…that means…he's suspended…he can't play.

"Ah!" Kagami quickly looked to where his father was supposed to be. "He's not there…" he quietly said to himself. The dim light he had, struggling to stay lit within him, was finally engulfed by the darkness. He grabbed his stuff and prepared to leave.

"Kagami, where are you going?" Riko asked him.

The red head just ignored her and left the building. He didn't feel like going home, he didn't want to face his father, and he didn't want to talk to anyone.

"What do I do now" he said as he aimlessly walked further and further from the building.

* * *

_10 days later_

"Kuroko!" Aomine yelled as he approached their meeting area within the cafe. "Sorry to call you out today, you had plans with Kise didn't you? He was texting me all upset that I took you from him".

"Don't worry about that. You rarely ever ask me out, so I figured it was something important." Kuroko said, taking a sip from his coffee.

"Yeah somewhat…" Aomine sat down in the seat across from Kuroko. "I've been trying to get a hold of Kagami cuz I wanted to give him a beating for his act at your guys' last game as well as for breaking our promise".

Kuroko chuckled, "You really are attached to Kagami-kun."

"S-shut up…I just don't like how he's been ignoring my messages".

Kuroko fell silent, "I'm guessing no one has told you about what happened".

"Huh? About what happened at the game? I was there, I already saw everything".

"No, about what happened after that".

"Ah…no I haven't heard anything" Aomine said nervously.

"Although it's been 10 days since the game, no one has seen Kagami-kun around lately" Kuroko explained.

Aomine looked confused, "What do you mean? Don't you guys have school and practice?"

Kuroko nodded, "Yes, but Kagami-kun hasn't shown up to either. I even went to visit his place the other day, but he didn't seem to be home either and he doesn't even pick up his phone. I'm worried about what he's doing…" Kuroko paused, "I've never seen that side of Kagami-kun. He was like a different person. I knew he had some issues, but I never thought that his negative feelings would get the best of him".

Aomine looked at Kuroko, seeing the sad expression on his face. "Hey Kuroko, I don't know if this is relevant, but before one your games, I saw Kagami and his father, I think, arguing about something. It seemed a bit serious. I couldn't hear the whole argument, but I heard something about acceptance and if Kagami were to play more selfishly, he'd be able to gain that. I didn't really get it, but I thought it was kinda weird"

Kuroko looked at Aomine, "So that's what happened." He let out a sigh, "Well I might as well tell you about the two of them".

Aomine leaned in; preparing himself for what Kuroko was about to tell him.

"Kagami and his father never seemed to get along," Kuroko began, "When Kagami was little, his father was very physically abusive. However, as Kagami grew up his father became more verbally abusive. I'm not sure why that change happened, but that is all Kagami told me. I have personally witnessed some of the verbal abuse and it always bothered me that Kagami wouldn't stand up for himself. I somewhat understand since he's grown up with it in all, but you know, Kagami was the type to push through anything…at least that's what I thought. I don't think I fully realized how much he was hurting. I also think I misjudged his father".

"How so?" Aomine asked.

"Well I always thought that somewhere in that man's heart, he cared for Kagami-kun, but I don't think that's the case anymore. I'm actually not sure if he loves Kagami or not. I'm completely baffled by that man's actions. I grew up with very loving parents, so I just kinda figured that Kagami's dad could be like that someday. However, because of that, I think I gave Kagami-kun a false hope; always telling him that someday his father would love him. So I'm worried that he's even more devastated now and thinking that there's nothing else to do."

"Well what about his mother? I remember asking him about her one time, but he just ignored the question" Aomine explained.

"Hm, I've never seen her nor have I heard anything about her, so I'm not sure about that"

Aomine sighed, "Man, he's full of secrets".

"Aomine-kun," Kuroko looked the blunet in the eye, "I have a favor of you".

"Hm, yeah what is it?"

"I want you to save Kagami-kun. I think you're able to pull him out of his darkness."

"How so?"

"Well, I think you may have gone through some of the same emotions. I know Kagami's case is more drastic, but I think you know the feeling of not being certain if there's anything left out there for you."

"…Yeah, that feelings very familiar…" Aomine said.

Kuroko smiled and grabbed a napkin. After writing on it, he handed it over to Aomine.

"What's this?" the blunet asked.

"It's Kagami's address, why don't you try giving him a visit every now and then to see if he's home" Kuroko explained. The boy stood up from his chair and prepared to leave. "Aomine-kun, I wish you luck".

Before Kuroko left the table Aomine added something, "You know Kuroko, even without you telling me, I would've gone and helped Kagami either way".

Kuroko smiled at him, "I'm glad to hear that".

Aomine stayed at the café long after Kuroko left, thinking about what the boy had explained to him. He finished his soda and set the glass back on the table, "But how exactly am I supposed to help him?"


	7. Chapter 7

Kagami sat on the couch, lazily flipping through the channels.

"Hey Taiga, when will you go home? Don't you think you've stayed here long enough?" Himuro asked, grabbing a drink for him and Kagami.

"I don't think I'm mentally prepared to go back yet" he said as he took the drink Himuro handed to him.

Himuro sighed, "I won't force you to leave, but you eventually have to go back."

Kagami stayed silent, thinking about what Himuro said. It was true though; he knew he had to go back eventually. However, he was afraid to face reality. Everything that happened kept coming to haunt him in his dreams and quite frankly he was getting sick of them. He wanted to get it out of his mind, never to remember such things, but he wasn't sure how to.

"Tatsuya, do you mind me asking you something?" The red head asked.

"Yeah, what is it?" Himuro said, intently listening to Kagami.

"What do you normally do to get your mind off things?"

"Hm…well I spend my time with others" he explained.

"Ok, but what exactly do you do when you're out with other people?" Kagami asked, leaning forward in his seat, desperate for an answer.

"Nothing in particular, just stay home" Before Kagami was able to ask another question, the black haired man asked, "Do you want anything to eat?"

Kagami laid back once again, relaxing his back on the soft sofa, "Well I was planning on going out to eat today, so I don't really need anything. Oh, and I'll probably get back late, since I haven't been out in a while."

"Okay, but make sure you don't get lost" Himuro chuckled, "You haven't been here in a long time, so I doubt you remember your way around".

"I think I'll be fine" Kagami said brimming with confidence.

* * *

Kagami walked along the main road, but eventually ended up wandering into the smaller streets. He walked through the narrow street, which was filled with many small independent businesses. As he continued down the street, he noticed a small path hiding between two shops. Kagami entered the path and walked further down into it. At first it seems as though there's nothing there, but at the very end, where the path ends, to the left is a door with a sign that reads _Stargaze café_. Kagami opened the door and was immediately greeted by a flight of stairs. He walked up the steps until he is greeted by a hostess.

"Welcome, will you dining in or ordering to-go?" She asked.

"Um…I'll dine in" Kagami said.

She guided him to a table near the back of the room and handed him a menu. "The waiter will be with you shortly" she said as she walked back to the front.

Not long after the hostess left, the waiter came up to him. He was tall and slim with a generous amount of muscle that was seen through his uniform. His face was lightly chiseled, his golden brown hair was long and put up into a stylish ponytail; he also had very serious silver eyes that almost seemed as though he could see though anyone. With a smile, the waiter spoke "Hello, I'm Shou and I'll be your waiter for today. What can I get for you?"  
"Ah" Kagami was still observing the man's appearance. '_Visually, he's on par with Tatsuya'_ Kagami thought to himself.

"Um, excuse me, sir?"

"Oh!" Kagami snapped out of his thoughts. "I'm sorry did you say something?"

The man chuckled, "I was asking you, what you wanted to order"

"Oh, I'm sorry I spaced out a little". Kagami took a glance at the menu, "I guess I'll have a coffee and 2 sandwiches please".

The waiter wrote his order down on the memo pad and collected the menu, "Ok, we'll have that for you shortly".

Kagami nodded as the waiter walked into the kitchen. After the waiter was out of sight, Kagami pulled out his phone. He's always had his phone on him, but it had remained off ever since he left Tokyo. "Maybe I should turn it on" Kagami said as he held onto the power button. His phone lit up and started itself up. The moment it turned on, a bombard of messages flooded his phone. He scrolled through them seeing that the whole team sent him messages, asking where was he and saying that they were all worried. He scrolled further down, surprised to see that even Aomine sent him a message; _Where the hell did you run off to?! Get back here so that I can kick your ass!_ Kagami chuckled at the message, "Everyone is so worried". His smile started to fade away, "But I don't deserve such things".

He put away his phone, leaning back in his seat and closed his eyes. The waiter approached him, "Here's your coffee and 2 sandwiches, please enjoy".

Kagami opened his eyes, "Oh, thank you".

The waiter smiled and walked back.

Kagami ate his food, but stayed there for a couple hours ordering more cups of coffee.

After about 3 hours the waiter approached him, "Um excuse me, but we'll be closing soon".

"Hm?" Kagami checked the time, "It's almost 10pm?!" He got up and looked out the window, seeing the rain pouring from the sky. "Ah dang, I didn't bring an umbrella with me" he said to himself, but the waiter seemed to have heard him.

"How about I give you a ride back" The waiter smiled at him.

Kagami was a bit hesitant at first, but he seemed like an okay guy and he didn't want to walk back in the rain, "Yeah sure. Thank you."

* * *

The two were silent for a majority of the time, but the waiter would ask a few questions every now and then.

"What were you doing at the café anyway? The address you gave me is a half hour drive." The waiter asked a bit surprised.

"Is it really? I didn't realize…I was just sort of wandering around" Kagami explained.

"Oh~ Well you do seem to have a lot on your mind"

Kagami looked at the waiter surprised, "You can tell?"

"Well, it's almost as if you're not really here. Like your mind is elsewhere."

Kagami sighed, "I didn't think I was being that obvious"

"Did you wanna talk about it? There's still some time before we get there".

"No…I'd rather not think about it right now"

The man chuckled, "But you seem to be thinking about it right now"

"…well…it's also hard to not think about it"

The waiter didn't ask any questions after that and the two remained silent for the rest of the car ride.

When they pulled up to the apartment, Kagami thanked the man for the ride and exited the car. Right after Kagami closed the door the waiter asked him something.

"Oh yeah, what's your name again?"

"…Kagami Taiga"

"Oh~ Well Taiga~ I'm Furukawa Shougo, but you can call me Shou"

He calling him by his first name surprised Kagami, but it didn't bother him too much since everyone used to call him by his first name back in America.

"Oh and also" Shou added "How about we exchange phone numbers? Since you seem to be in a not so good mood. I know a couple places that'll probably get your mind off things"

That peaked Kagami's interest, _'it would be nice to finally be able to just have fun and not worry about anything'_ he thought. Kagami pulled out his phone, bringing it up to Shou's. The two exchange contact information.

"Well, I'll probably text you tomorrow" Shou said as he put his car into drive, preparing to depart.

"Okay, I'll most likely be free tomorrow, so there shouldn't be problem" The red head says as he waved goodbye.

He watched as Shou drove away and began walking up the steps towards Himuro's apartment. _'It wouldn't be to bad hanging out with him. He seems like a very easy-going type of person.' _Kagami thought as he approached the door, unlocking it.

"I'm back" He says.

He got no reply, which is understandable since it was almost 11pm.

He took off his shoes and walked towards his room, but he stopped half way, hearing light sounds coming from Himuro's room.

"Did he leave the tv on?" Kagami asked himself.

He walked up to the room and carefully opened the door, peeking inside. Kagami almost fell back from what he saw.

Himuro was most certaintly not asleep, and the tv wasn't even on. Those sounds weren't the sounds of a friendly tv show, but were sounds of light moans, grunts, and body contact.

Himuro was underneath a man the red head has never seen before. Not only that, but it seemed like Himuro was also enjoying it, like it was completely normal to him.

Kagami quickly closed the door, quietly so that he wouldn't be noticed, and headed straight to his room, throwing himself onto the bed.

He covered his face with his arms, trying to forget about what he just saw, but thoughts and questions kept flying into his mind. _Who was that? Why is Tatsuya having sex with him? Wait, but that was a man? Is that his boyfriend? Are they sex friends?_ He couldn't think straight, and he most certainly could not sleep.

"I shouldn't have drank all that coffee" Kagami said to himself, closing his eyes, trying to fall asleep.

* * *

Kagami woke up the next morning, lazily trudging into the kitchen. As he moved through the living room, he caught a glimpse of Himuro sitting on the couch, looking spaced out. At first, Kagami wasn't planning on confronting him, but now, he had the sudden urge to.

He approached Himuro from behind. "Hey, Tatsuya" the red head said as he looked down towards the black haired man.

Himuro turned his head and looked up at him, "What is it? …why do you have that look on your face?"

Without hesitation, Kagami asked, "Who was that last night?"

"Hmm…"Himuro thought for a second, "Oh, you saw that last night".

Kagami didn't say anything, but he nodded his head.

Himuro sighed, "Why don't you sit down".

The red head walked around the couch and sat next to him.

"Remember how I said that I like to hang out with people to get my mind off things?" Himuro began. "Well I don't _hang out _with them so to say. It's more like we just meet up to have sex. Sex friends to be exact. And by doing that I'm able to forget the things that I'd rather not think about".

"But-"

"Taiga, I'd rather you not meddle in my affairs. This is just how I cope with things. Besides you have problems of your own, you shouldn't think about me too much".

"But Tatsuya, don't you-"

The ringing of his phone interrupted Kagami. He looked at it noticing it was Aomine and he didn't feel like answering.

"Answer it, you haven't talked to any of them in a while" Tatsuya said sipping his cup of coffee.

Kagami walked into his room, sighed and answered the phone.

"Hello" he said unenthusiastically.

"Well it's about time my call goes through! Do you know how many times I've called you and it hasn't even gone through?! A lot! It's quite tiresome calling you and all, but Tetsu asked me to try and get a hold of you since no one else can."

Kagami remained silent so Aomine continued to talk. "Where are you anyway?"

"Akita" The red head quickly replied.

"Huh?! Why the hell are you all the way up there?!"

"I decided to stay with Tatsuya for a while"

"Isn't that the guy who sticks around Murasakibara?"

"Well it's more like Murasakibara sticks to him, but yeah"

The blunette sighed, "…but you're definitely in Akita with him right now?"

"Yeah, I have no reason to lie" Kagami said confused by Aomine's words.

There was silence between the two. "I'll be there tomorrow…" Aomine quietly said.

"Huh?! Don't come here! Aho!"

"…I'll be there tomorrow" The blunette repeated then immediately hung up.

Kagami sighed, "He's over reacting".

As he was putting his phone back into his pant's pocket, it rang once again, but this time it wasn't from Aomine, but a text from Shou.

_Are you free at around 5pm? _Is what it read.

_Yeah, where'd you wanna meet up? _he replied.

_The sitting area at the park by where you're staying is fine._

_Okay. See you then._

As Kagami walked out to his room returning to Himuro, a thought popped into his head, _'hanging out with Shou will be a good opportunity to get my mind off things'._

"Done already?" Himuro said looking over at Kagami.

"Yeah"

"Who called anyway?"

"…Aomine"

Himuro looked surprised, "I didn't know you two were friends"

"Well yeah…we haven't been friends for that long, but we're friends" Kagami said scratching the back of his head while taking the seat across from Himuro.

"…Hey Tatsuya, can I ask you something?" Kagami asked.

"Yeah?"

"About what you were you talking about earlier…does that really get your mind off things? I feel like that would create more problems."

"Hm, not really. As long as your partner knows what he's doing then you'll be able to just drown into the pleasure"

"Oh"

Himuro took a closer look at Kagami, "Don't tell me you're thinking about doing it with someone"

"Well maybe just a little bit. I'm curious."

"Well if you wann try it out then go ahead"

"You're so bad with advice" Kagami chuckled.

"Well I seriously think you should just do what you want. I mean it's your life, you should do what you want with it" Himuro explained.

"Yeah yeah, I get what you mean." Kagami got up from his seat. "Oh and before I forget to tell you, I'm hanging out with a friend tonight".

"Oh, how do you know someone up here?"

"What you can't accept that I'm popular"

"Shut up" Himuro shot a glare at him.

Kagami laughed, "I'm kidding, calm down".

"Hey are you hungry? I have some leftovers from last night"

"Yeah, a little bit" Kagami said as he followed Himuro into the kitchen.

* * *

After the two ate, Kagami began to get ready to go hang out with Shou.

Before leaving, Kagami sent a text to Shou saying that he was on his way.

When Kagami arrived at the park he sat on the bench and waited for Shou to arrive since he arrived a couple minutes early.

"Taiga~!"

Kagami heard the very enthusiastic voice call out to him. He looked over to his side and saw Shou running towards him.

"I'm sorry, did you wait long?" he asked.

"No, I only got here a few moments ago". The red head replied. "But what are we doing anyway?"

"Nothing much, I just thought we could walk around for a bit"

"Oh ok"

The two walked around the park for a while, having little chats every now and then. That is until Shou noticed that Kagami seemed to be in deep thought.

"Do you have something on your mind?" Shou asked.

"Huh?" Kagami looked towards him.

"Do you have something on your mind?" The man repeated with a smile.

"Oh, well yeah sort of."

"You seemed to have something on your mind while you were at the café last night. Do you wanna talk about it?"

Kagami thought about it for a bit. He recalled Kuroko telling him that it wasn't good to keep things bottled up inside. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad telling Shou about his issues. "Yeah, I think it'd be good if I talk about it now, since the thought keeps circulating through my mind".

"Then let's find a good place to chat".

They found a sitting area that wandered a bit off from the main path and was surrounded by many thick trees.

The two sat across from each other.

Shou patiently waited until Kagami was ready to talk.

The red head to a deep breath and began to explain everything to him. He first explained all the verbal abuse he received from his father and how it made him feel. After that he went on to explaining the events that happened at his basketball game a couple days ago.

The whole time, Shou would nod his head taking in every word Kagami said to him.

"So that's basically what's happened and is also the reason why I'm afraid to go back to Tokyo. I just don't feel like facing reality at the moment".

Shou sat there without saying anything for a bit. "Taiga, I'll be frank with you. I understand the emotions you went through but have you ever stopped and seriously think things through? From what you've explained to me, it seems although your father was just playing a game with you, I don't think he was expecting anything at all."

Kagami was shocked by what he just heard, "Is that how you see it?". His voice shook in fear of that reality.

A faint smirk crept on Shou's face as he reached towards Kagami, softly caressing his face, "But you wanna erase all memories of your father right?"

Kagami nodded his head slightly.

"Well I know a good way to forget all of that. Not only would you forget about him, a whole new exciting feeling will take hold of you".

Kagami looked up at the man, curious by what he was saying. "You know how to get rid of these feelings?"

Shou smiled at him, "Of course. I'll take you now and show you how".

Kagami didn't say anything, but he still followed the man to wherever he was going.

After a half hour, the two walked into a small building.

Kagami tugged onto Shou's shirt. "Isn't this a hotel?" Kagami asked confused on why the where there.

Shou turned and faced Kagami. He leaned in until he was close enough to whisper into the red head's ear, "Have you ever thought of a man having their way with your body and the pleasure it may bring you?"

"But-"

The man's breath brushed against Kagami's neck, "I promise you'll be able to forget about everything"

'_Tatsuya said stuff like this gets his mind off thing, so I guess it should be fine'_ the red head thought. "Okay, it's fine" he said while taking hold of Shou's hand.

"Well then, shall we go up to our room?" The man smiled.

* * *

_Now arriving Akita, please watch your step while exiting the train._

"Looks like I couldn't help but arrive a day early" Aomine said as he stretched his body and exited the train.

He checked the time; it was currently 9pm. He tried giving Kagami a call, but the red head wouldn't pick up.

"At least answer your phone" Aomine sighed, "I need a place to stay".

As he navigated his way through the station, he found an informational booth. He looked through it and found a hotel relatively near the center of the city.

"This should be fine" he said to himself while dialing the number.

"Good evening, thank you for calling xx Hotel, how may I help you?" the concierge said over the phone.

"Um, I'd like to reserve a room for the night" Aomine said as he exited the station and began to walk to the hotel.

"Okay, for how many people?"

"Just one"

"Okay, we will have the room ready for you by the time you arrive"

"Thank you" he hung up and placed the phone in his back pocket.

As he walked through the city, he remembers his conversation with Kuroko and all the things he said about Kagami. He knew Kagami was going through some things, but it seems it was a little more complicated than he thought. Maybe he should have asked Kagami if he was okay more often; try to get him to open up. He was worried about him. It may sound weird, but if Kagami were to suddenly disappear from his life, he'd probably end up the way he was before.

The hotel was now in sight and Aomine quickened his pace since he wanted to sit down and relax as soon as possible.

When he entered the hotel, he approached the concierge. She then handed Aomine the key to his room.

He walked towards the guest rooms looking for his room number.

"183" he said to himself, "Ah".

He saw his room number at the very end of the hallway.

As he walked further down the hallway, two men caught his eye; well to be specific, one man caught his eye. That oh so familiar flaming red hair.

He noticed the two holding hands as they were about to enter the hotel room. Without even questioning whether it was Kagami or not, Aomine rushed towards them and snatched the red head's wrist, causing him to release his hand from the other man's.

"A-Aomine?!" The red head shouted. "What are you-"

Before Kagami was even able to ask any questions, Aomine was already dragging him towards his room.

"Wait, Aomine! Hold on!"

Ignoring Kagami, Aomine unlocked the door to his room and threw Kagami inside.

"Aomine seriously! What are-"

"What the hell?!" Aomine yelled, causing the red head to go silent.

"What the hell?!" Aomine kept repeating those words as continuous thoughts flooded his mind.

'_Why am I so mad? What is this feeling?'_


	8. Chapter 8

"What the hell?!" Aomine clenched onto his shirt. _'Why am I so upset?' _he thought. "What were you gonna do with that man!?"

"That's none of my business!" the red head snapped back.

Aomine grabbed Kagami by the color of his shirt "It is my business! So you better spit it out!"

"How is it any of your business?" The red head held onto Aomine's wrist, "It's not like we're related or anything. Besides, I don't even understand why you're so angry".

Kagami's words cooled the blunet's mind. Aomine released Kagami and began thinking to himself. _'Why am I so upset. Why was I angry seeing Kagami holding hands with someone else. Why does the thought of him being with someone else pull my heart? …This sort of possessiveness, I've never experienced it before. Maybe…'_

"Oi, Ahomine! Are you listening to me?! Why are you so mad?"

Aomine closed in on Kagami. Without looking him in the eye, Aomine inched his face closer to Kagami's. "I wanna kiss him" he whispered.

Kagami didn't seem to hear what the blunet said, "Wait, Aomine what are you-"

Before Kagami was able to finish his sentence, a pair of hot slightly rough lips pressed against his. Aomine wrapped his arm around Kagami's waist, pulling him in closer.

"Mm!" Kagami flinched when he felt Aomine's tongue slide into his mouth. He tried to break free, but Aomine's strength prevented him from doing so.

'_Ah, it feels nice' _Aomine thought to himself. _'Is this what I've always wanted?'._

"A-Ao-" Kagami exerted more strength and was able to pull away from the blunet. "What's gotten into you!"

Aomine stayed silent, which was making Kagami feel a bit uncomfortable. The red head tried to make a run for the door, but Aomine grabbed onto his wrist, puling him back.

"Please don't go back to the man's room". The blunet said in a stern yet gentle tone.

"Um…" Kagami said hesitantly.

"I'll sleep on the couch, you can have the room".

"…Okay, I guess that's fine".

Aomine let go of the red head's wrist.

Before heading off into the room, Kagami glanced back at the blunet.

When Aomine heard the door shut, he slumped down on the wall. _'Why did I kiss him? What do I do now?' _"Uh" the blunet groaned, ruffling his hair. "Now what do I do?"

* * *

Aomine woke up the next morning and immediately checked the room Kagami was sleeping in.

"He's not here" he says while pulling out his phone.

'_But it does seem like he spent the night so I guess it's okay'_ he thinks to himself.

He starts to compose a message to Kagami, _Where did you go?_

After a few minutes pass by and not getting a reply, Aomine recalls that Kagami said he was staying with Himuro.

Remembering that, he dials a number into his phone.

After the phone rings for a little, someone picks up, "…Mine-chin? Why are you calling me all of a sudden?"

"Where does Himuro live?" Aomine asks, ignoring Murasakibara's tone.

"Wait, you're in Akita?"

"Yeah, just for the day though. But anyway, where does he live?"

"Why do you wanna know where Muro-chin lives?"

"I'm bringing Kagami back to Tokyo"

"Oh! You're taking him back! Thank goodness! I haven't been able to visit Muro-chin because he's been staying there" Murasakibara said excited.

"Yeah, yeah. Can you just give me the address?" Aomine said rubbing his forehead.

"Oh, how about we just go together?"

Aomine sighed, "I guess that's fine".

"Okay, where are you staying? Let's meet up somewhere"

After the two decided on where they would meet up, Aomine checked out of the hotel and headed to the location they decided on.

* * *

"Mine-chin"

Aomine heard Murasakibara call out to him.

"Hey, how have you been?" Aomine said putting his hands in his pockets.

"Good good. What about you?"

"Fine"

"Oh~ Okay. Well then let's go to Muro-chin's place~" Murasakibara said more than excited.

As the two walked towards Himuro's apartment, Murasakibara would ask a few questions.

"I didn't know you Kagami were close"

"Hm? Oh, well we became close just recently"

"Oh~"

The two stayed quiet for the rest of the way there.

When the two arrived, Murasakibara knocked on the door, "Muro-chin~!"

The door crept open and Himuro peered through the door. Noticing both Aomine and Murasakibara, he opened the door completely. "Ah, Atsushi…I see you brought Aomine along with you" he said as he made a glance towards the blunet.

"Yeah, he wanted to pick Kagami up"

Himuro leaned his body on the doorway, crossing his arms, "That's nice and all, but Taiga already left".

"Huh?!" Aomine sounded a bit frustrated. "Where'd he go off to now".

"Well he said he was going back to Tokyo, so he should be at the train station." Himuro checked his watch, "And his train should be leaving in half an hour".

Upon hearing that, Aomine immediately started to run to the station without saying goodbye to either of them.

When he arrived at the station, he bought his boarding pass and entered the train with only minutes to spare.

He walked through the train searching for Kagami. When he caught a glimpse of the familiar red hair, he exhaled in relief. He then took the seat next to him, "It's okay if I sit here right?"

"Ah yea- Aomine?!" Kagami asked surprised. He then tried to act normal, "..It's about time you got here".

Aomine chuckled, "Were you saving this seat for me?"

"No!" The red head blushed, "I already knew you were only staying here for the day. And it's best that you take the morning train since it's less crowded".

"Oh, okay then" Aomine said relaxing in his seat.

As the train began to move, Aomine asked the red head a question, "So what are you gonna do when you get to Tokyo?"

Kagami glanced at Aomine, "I'm gonna go home of course".

"Isn't your dad there?"

"Maybe" Kagami closed his eyes.

"I'll go with you".

"Huh?!" Kagami abruptly leaned forward in his chair.

"It's fine, I kinda wanna meet your dad anyway".

"He's not that special" Kagami mumbled.

"I don't care, I just wanna meet him".

"Fine, but don't blame me if you get bored." The red head said closing his eyes once again.

Aomine only nodded and closed his eyes.

* * *

"Aren't you gonna unlock the door?" Aomine asked.

"Yeah, stop being so impatient". Kagami rummaged through his pockets for the keys. Once he found them he placed the key in the keyhole and unlocked the door.

The two walked into the apartment.

"It doesn't seem like anyone's here" Aomine said inspecting the room.

The two walk through the home; Kagami inspects the bedrooms as Aomine enters the kitchen.

Looking around, Aomine finds a piece of paper sitting on the counter top. _'A letter?'_ The blunet grabs the paper and heads to where Kagami is.

"Hey Kagami, I found this in the kitchen" he hands over the paper to Kagami and stands behind the man so that he'll be able to read it as well.

_Taiga,_

_ Since you are reading this, I take it that you've finally come home. I would have rather told you this in person, but since you're too much of a coward, I guess I'm going to have to write it out for you. _

_ I have left back to America and do not plan on returning to Japan. I no longer have business there. What about the apartment you ask? Well you can keep it; I don't need it. Furthermore, I believe it will benefit us both if you stop perceiving me as your father. I have, for a long time, stopped viewing you as my son. That is all I need to say._

_ Have a nice life,_

_ Kenji _

"Ah…Well who needs that bastard anyway. I mean he was-" Aomine stopped midway through his sentence, surprised by what he saw. He watched as tears rolled down the red head's face.

"O-oi, you don't need to cry…" Aomine tried to pull Kagami into an embrace but he was pushed away.

"D-don't look at me" Kagami said while he tried to cover his face.

'_Is he really this upset? I…I don't like seeing him like this'_ Aomine thought as he pulled Kagami towards him a little more forcefully, preventing the red head from breaking free from him once again.

"A-Aomine let go"

From hearing that, the blunet only held Kagami tighter. "It's okay" he whispered, "You're not alone".

Kagami froze from Aomine's words, his emotions beginning to get the best of him. Kagami buried his face in Aomine's shirt, letting his tears flow freely.

Aomine continued to comfort Kagami, "It's okay, you don't need to worry about anything. I'll stay with you. It's okay".

After a few minutes, Kagami started to calm down. He softly pulled himself away from Aomine. "Sorry…I got your shirt wet…" Kagami apologized, his breath still a bit frantic from crying.

"It's okay…but more importantly will you be alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine…"

The two awkwardly stood across from each other.

"Um…W-when are you going home?" Kagami asked.

"What? I'm not going home. Didn't you hear me earlier? I'm not leaving you all alone". Aomine said, cocking his head to the side.

"It's not like you live here! Besides I'll be fine, stop worrying so much"

"…I'll just move in with you" Aomine announced.

"Huh?! You don't need to do that"

"It's already been decided" Aomine said as he walked towards the door. "And you're coming with me to pick up my stuff". The blunet dragged Kagami out of his apartment and towards his home.

* * *

When they arrived at Aomine's home, they notice that his parent's are not home.

"You wait here, I'm gonna go call my parents really quick" The blunet said while he walked towards his room.

A couple minutes after Aomine left, Kagami's phone rang.

"Hello?" Kagami said.

"Oh, Taiga! Are you okay?" The man said over the phone.

"Oh? Shou, yeah I'm fine"

"That's good. But who was that guy anyway?"

Kagami recalled the kiss he received from Aomine that night, "He's…he's just a friend".

"Hmm" Shou sounded suspicious, "Anyway, when will I be able to see you again?"

"Umm well I'm not really sure…"

"Oh ok well-"

"Kagami, who are you talking to?" Aomine stood at the doorway staring at the red head.

"Ah" Kagami quickly put away his phone, "No one in particular".

"…Where you talking to that guy from last night?"

Kagami looked around the house, "Hey, Aomine. Why did you kiss me that night?"

Aomine stood in silence thinking about what he should say. "I just felt like it"

'_I just felt like it? That doesn't sound right…'_ Aomine thought to himself.

Noticing Aomine's indecisiveness, Kagami changed the subject, "Have you finished packing already?"

"Ah! Oh yeah, I finished" Aomine said coming back to his senses.

"Then you wanna head back?"

"Okay, but how bout we go to Maji Burger for dinner first"

"Sure"

The two left Aomine's home and began to make their way to Maji Burger.

* * *

When the two arrived at Maji Burger, they saw Kuroko sitting at a table with his typical vanilla shake.

"You can go chat with Tetsu, I'll go order us some food" Aomine said, walking towards the cashier.

Kagami nodded his head and walked over towards Kuroko.

"Kuroko, long time no see" Kagami took the seat across from Kuroko.

"Kagami-kun…" Kuroko seemed shocked to see him. "Where have you been?"

"I was staying with Tatsuya for a while"

"Ah…Well it's good that you're okay"

"Sorry for making you worry"

"No no" Kuroko shook his hands, "It's fine. You probably just wanted to have some time to yourself so it's understandable".

Kagami chuckled, "You're too nice. I mean, I said some pretty mean things to you…"

"Don't worry about that, you're fine" Kuroko gave the red head a loving smile, "As long as you're okay".

Aomine returned and sat next to Kagami.

Kuroko checked his phone, "Oh it's about time for me to go home"

"Huh?" Aomine seemed a bit upset, "I just sat down"

"Aomine-kun, we'll have plenty of time to talk" Kuroko paused, "Oh and Kagami-kun, be sure to come back to school. You missed a lot of content and more importantly the team misses having you around. It's oddly quiet"

"I'll be sure to go tomorrow" Kagami said.

Aomine turned to Kagami, surprised by what the red head said.

"Okay, see you tomorrow then" Kuroko waved goodbye and walked out of the restaurant.

Kagami took a bite out of his burger.

"Are you sure you wanna go to school tomorrow?" Aomine asked, a little worried.

"It's fine. It's better that my make up work doesn't pile up anymore"

"Well if you say so," Aomine pointed at Kagami's food, "But you're not even eating that much either. I mean you asked for two burgers"

"I'm just not that hungry today"

The blunet sighed, "If that's what you say." Aomine thought for a second, "I'm not against you going to school or anything that, I'm just a bit worried…so…if anything happens you can text me".

Kagami nearly choked on his food, "That's probably the mushiest thing I've ever heard you say"

"Shut up" Aomine turned his head away, "I just want to let you know that you can rely on me a little…you don't need to do everything alone".

Kagami looked over at Aomine, "…Thanks"

The two sat in silence for a while, continuing to eat their food.

Kagami pushed his tray aside, "I think I'm done eating".

"Oh ok, then let's go" Aomine said gathering the trash.

* * *

"So who's using the bath first?" Aomine asked while unpacking his things in the guest room.

"Huh? What kind of question is that? Of course I'm using the bath first, I live here" Kagami said.

"I live here too now you know"

"Well I still haven't acknowledged that"

Aomine glanced over to Kagami, "Aren't you taking a bath first? Or do you want me to join you?"

"Don't be stupid, there's no way I'd wanna see you naked" Kagami retorted.

"I'm just kidding. Just hurry up and take a bath, I wanna go to bed"

"Yeah, yeah" Kagami said as he walked towards the bathroom.

Kagami turned on the faucet of the bathtub, letting the warm water fill up the tub.

Once the tub was filled, he removed his clothes and stepped into the tub. He exhaled, relaxing himself in the water.

'_It's strange having someone here all the time. I mean yeah, my dad was always here, but it's not like we would constantly talk to each other. But now, now that Aomine's here, the home feels more…lively in a way. It's not bad or anything, but I'm just not used to it. However, the feeling does seem familiar…' _Kagami yawned. _'I should get out before I fall asleep'_

Kagami drained the tub and changed into his pj's. He placed a towel over his head before exiting the bathroom. He walked towards Aomine's room to tell him the bath was free, but when he walked in, the blunet had already fallen asleep.

"Well it won't be my fault if he feels groggy in the morning" Kagami said as he quietly closed the door.

Kagami entered his room and threw himself onto his bed.

Not long after, he fell into a deep sleep.

'_Mom…where are you! It's dark, I'm scared…' _

_A faint figure appears in front of the small boy._

'_Mom is that you? Don't walk so fast, I can't keep up' The boy tried to walk faster, but his efforts were futile. He couldn't catch up to her._

'_Seriously slow down… Why don't you wait for me?'_

_The figure turned towards the boy and began to say something._

'_Huh? What do you mean you're leaving?' The boy asked._

_The figure mouthed a sentence._

'_I don't understand, why do you have to go?'_

_The figure turned around and continued to walk away._

'_W-wait! I don't understand!' The boy started to run towards the figure. 'Why do you need to leave! I-I thought you cared about me!' The boy stopped running. 'Do you hate me?! Do you hate just like dad hates me?!'_

_The boy didn't get a response._

'_I thought you were different!'_

_The figure began to disappear into the darkness._

'_Mom…p-please…don't leave me alone…it's scary. There's no one else around me…'_

_The boy looked up to see that the figure had already disappeared. He looked around, trying to find any trace of a person, but only the vast darkness rested all around him._

'_Why…why does everyone leave me…'_

Kagami abruptly opened his eyes, his breathing a bit tight.

After calming himself down, he covered his face with his forearm. "Ah…why did I have to dream that now?"


	9. Chapter 9

The sound of the school bell rang through out the halls. Soon after, students filled the hallways, making their way back home.

"Kagami! Where have you been?!" Furihata yelled walking up to his desk.

"I just didn't feel like going to school" Kagami chuckled.

Furihata laughed, "You should stop being so rebellious"

"Don't make it sound like I'm always like that"

The two continued to joke with each other until a student came looking for the red head.

"Kagami! Sensei's looking for you!"

"Ah, okay! I'll be right there!" The red head got out of his seat, "I'll see you at practice" he said waving his hand.

* * *

"Do you know how many days of school you've missed?" The teacher asked sternly.

"Um, almost two weeks I think…" Kagami said.

The teacher sighed, "I'm quite worried about your grades. You're barely holding on to a passing grade in my class, but since you've missed so much, I'm afraid your grade will drop to a D if not lower".

"Eh?! Is it really that bad?" Kagami asked surprised.

"Yes unfortunately. However, I recommend you do some make-up work" The teacher pulled out a packet from his desk and handed it to the red head. "If you can complete this and turn it in to me by the end of next week, you should be able to hold on to your current grade."

Kagami stared at the heavy packet in his hands, "So…turn this in by the end of next week?"

"Yes"

"Okay, thank you Sensei!" Kagami bowed and exited the teacher's room.

As Kagami walked down the hallway, he heard footsteps quickly approaching him.

"Kagami!" the voice shouted at him.

He turned around to see Riko quickly making her way up to him.

"Ah, Coach! I'm sorry I've missed—"

Ignoring Kagami's words, she gave him a hug, "Don't go wandering off like that. We were all worried about you, you know"

Looking down at her, the red head spoke in a soft tone, "I'm sorry"

Immediately after, Riko punched him in the gut and with a proud stature she spoke, "But if you dare disappear like that ever again, I will not go easy on you!"

Kagami gulped, "sorry sorry, it won't happen again".

"Anyway, I heard you were talking to your teacher"

"Yeah, I just finished talking to him"

"So when do you think you'll be able to come back to practice?"

"I can start as soon as possible" Kagami's face lit up a bit.

Riko sighed, "Obviously that's not happening" she said pointing at the packet in his hands.

"Ah! Ummm…this is…" he tried hiding the packet behind his back.

"It's obvious that that's make-up work" She put her hand against her forehead, "Well it looks like you won't be able to practice until you finish that"

"B-but—"

"However, you can sit in during practice" she smiled.

"Really?" Kagami said surprised.

"Yeah, I don't mind. Just work on your homework though, okay?"

Kagami nodded his head, "Thank you".

The two walked to the gym together. Once they entered the gym, Kagami went and grabed a seat on the bleachers. As practice began to start, he pulled out his homework and began to fill in some answers. He pulled out his phone, noticing that Aomine had texted him _'When are you coming home?'_

The red head began to reply, _'Coach is letting me sit in on practice as long as I work on my homework. So I'll probably be home no later than 10'_

Before setting his phone back down, he got an immediate reply, _'Okay, don't push yourself too hard'_

After reading the message, he placed the phone in his backpack. While tapping his pencil on his paper, he thought about how Aomine's seemed a bit "over-protective" lately. Ever since he received that note from his father, Aomine has been keeping a close eye on him. It's not as though that's a bad thing. As a matter of fact, Kagami liked having the blunet around (but he wasn't planning on telling Aomine that). Kagami was a little happy when Aomine decided to live with him because, at the moment, being alone is what scared him the most. Ever since his dad left the note, Kagami has been feeling overly anxious. It's getting to the point where he's not even sure on what he should do. However, Aomine has somehow been able to keep him in one piece.

"Kagami-kun, how's your homework coming along?" Kuroko asked, looming over the red head's shoulder.

Kagami looked down at his paper and saw that he only answered one or two questions, "Ahh…it's okay I guess"

Kuroko chuckled, "You can just tell me you spaced out"

The red head smiled, "I seriously can't hide anything from you"

Kuroko leaned in further taking a look at Kagami's homework, "Do you need any help?"

"That would be helpful"

Kuroko took a seat next to him and the two began to work the problems together.

"Where's Kuroko?" Furihata asked.

"Hm….where is Kuroko?"

The team looked around the gym and found him helping Kagami.

"Oi Kuroko! We still have practice!" Kiyoshi shouted.

"But Kagami-kun isn't making any progress" Kuroko explained with a straight face.

"Oi, Kuroko! Don't tell them that!" Kagami said bashfully.

Some of the members of the team laughed.

"It's okay to help him, but do that after practice okay?" Kiyoshi told the boy.

"Okay" Kuroko stood up and returned to practice.

Kagami resumed doing his homework.

* * *

After practice was over, the team gathered around Kagami.

"When will you be able to join us for practice?" Hyuuga asked.

"I can't until I finish this make-up work" the red head said while showing them the packet.

"Well that's understandable, since you decided to skip school" Hyuuga teased. "But this shouldn't take you _that_ long since this material is relatively easy".

The red head didn't reply to Hyuuga's remark.

"Oi! Don't tell me you don't understand ths!"Hyuuga shouted.

"You only know this stuff cuz your minds' been blessed" Kagami pouted.

Hyuuga sighed, "You just need to study more"

"Easy for you to say" Kagami mumbled.

Upon hearing that, Hyuuga seemed to have popped a vain. However, before he could do anything, Kuroko came between them.

"Senpai, don't worry about it. I'll tutor Kagami-kun"

After calming himself, Hyuuga replied, "That's fine I suppose". He then turned towards Kagami, "You better not slack off. We're all awaiting your return!"

While everyone began to leave, Kuroko offered an idea. "Why don't we go to your place?"

"Eh?! Why?!"

"To help with your homework of course"

Before replying, Kagami remembered that Aomine is staying with him. "W-why don't we go to your place?" The red head suggested.

"Why would we go my place? You live closer"

"Well yeah, but—"

"Then it's settled" Kuroko gathered his things and began to walk in the direction of Kagami's house.

"Oi, Kuroko! Wait!"

* * *

The two stood in front of Kagami's front door.

"Aren't you going to open the door?" Kuroko asked.

"Ah…yeah" Kagami unlocked the door, inviting Kuroko in first.

"Excuse the intrusion" Kuroko said while removing his shoes.

"Oi Kagami! It's about time you got home!" Aomine yelled while walking towards the two of them.

Aomine seemed surprised when he saw Kuroko, "Tetsu? What are you doing here?"

"I'm helping Kagami-kun with his homework. But why are _you_ here?"

Aomine glanced at Kagami. It seemed as though he hadn't told Kuroko anything. "It's a long story" the blunet chuckled while rubbing his head.

"Hm…" Kuroko glanced at Aomine, then turned his face towards Kagami "Well we better start the make-up work if you plan on practicing anytime soon"

"Yeah…" before the two walked to Kagami's room, the red head turned his attention towards the blunet. "Aomine, have you eaten already?"

Aomine casually nodded his head, "Yeah, I ate"

"Okay…then excuse me"

The two walked into Kagami's room and began to study.

* * *

As the two worked through the problems, Kuroko continued to stare at Kagami.

"Why is Aomine-kun here?" the boy asked.

Kagami froze for a second, trying to think of a response, "He just felt like it".

"And you just casually let him?"

"…Yeah, is there anything wrong with that?"

"Is your father okay with this?"

The red head jolted, remembering the note, "He isn't relevant"

Observing Kagami, Kuroko figured that it'd be best to drop the subject. He didn't want to force Kagami to talk about he didn't want to talk about.

"Well if you say so" Kuroko turned the page of his packet, "Let's move on to the next section"

* * *

Aomine lay in his bed flipping through a magazine.

"Ah!" He tossed the magazine across the room "This is so boring…"

He folded his arms behind his head and closed his eyes.

'_I wanna spend some time with Kagami'_ he thought.

Lately, he's realized that he has been paying too much attention to Kagami. It's true that he's staying with Kagami because he's worried about him, but it feels like there's more to it.

'_I just can't think of what it can be'_

Now that he thought about it, Kagami has been acting fairly "normal". Not his usual self, but he's not as shaken up as Aomine thought he'd be.

'_Is he just trying to show everyone that he's fine? It's stuff like that, that makes me worry more about him'_

He recalled the time when he asked his mom if he could stay with Kagami.

* * *

"Hey mom, is it okay if I stay with a friend for a while?" Aomine asked.

"Huh?! Are you out of your mind?!" The woman yelled through the phone.

"Mom, it's important"

"…How so?"

"Well, he's going through some tough family situations…and I'm afraid to leave him alone"

"Are his parents okay with you staying there?"

"He lives alone"

"Eh~ How old is this friend?"

"He's my age"

His mother sighed, "It's unbelievable hearing you worry so much about someone. But it's also the first time for you" she paused. "Okay fine, you can stay there"

"Thank—"

"But don't you guys be screwing around with any girls!"

"Yeah, yeah"

"Daiki, I'm serious"

"Mom, I get it. I won't do anything like that… I just wanna look out for him"

"Okay, okay, I understand. But you can't blame me for being a worried mother" she chuckled. "Just be careful and be sure to visit us every now and then. Oh! And bring your friend along also, okay?"

"Okay, thanks mom"

"Be careful okay? I love you~"

Aomine blushed and lowered his voice, "I…I love you too"

His mother bursted out laughing, causing Aomine to move the phone away from his ear.

"You don't have to be so bashful" she said, trying to hold in her excitement.

"Mom if you're done, I'm hanging up"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry for teasing you" she chuckled. "Be safe okay? Bye"

"Bye…"

* * *

Aomine opened his eyes when he heard the sound of the front door closing. He got out of bed and exited his room. He noticed Kagami walking away from the door.

"Did Tetsu leave already?"

"Yeah"

'_Ah…this feels a little awkward'_ Aomine thought. "Um…did you guys finish all the work?"

"Most of it, there's still a couple pages left, but that's all"

Aomine chuckled, "That's what you get for ditching school"

"Shut up, I don't wanna hear that from you" The red head blushed slightly.

Aomine continued to laugh, "Hey, tomorrows a holiday right?"

"Yeah, but I'm not sure what holiday it is"

"Right? Albeit the teachers just wanted a day off so they decided to cancel school"

Kagami chuckled, "That'd be funny if that were true"

"But anyway, since there's no school tomorrow, you wanna go out and do something? Maybe go see a movie or something." Aomine suggested.

"That sounds like a date"

"It's…it's not a date…we'll just go out, have fun…and get our minds off everything. Besides it's not like you have anything planned"

Kagami got a little defensive, "Well I was planning—"

"And don't you dare say that you were gonna go run to Tetsu. Kise's already booked him for the day"

Kagami closed his mouth, unable to think of a comeback.

"I don't know why you're so hesitant to spend time with me. We used to hang out all the time"

"It's not the same anymore!" Kagami quickly spoke, slightly raising his voice.

"What do you mean?" Aomine was a bit confused about Kagami's response.

"Ever since you…" The red head mumbled.

"What?"

Kagami blushed, "It's nothing…so uhh…what time tomorrow?"

"So now you're okay with it" Aomine sighed "I don't know what's going on in that head of yours. But I guess we'll leave at around noon"

"Okay…don't over-sleep!"

Before blunet could say anything, Kagami retreated into his room.

After Kagami was out of his sight, Aomine thought about what Kagami said. He gently placed his fingers on his lips and blushed, "Was he talking about _that_?"


	10. Chapter 10

"So what do you wanna see?" Aomine asked while scanning through the movies that were showing.

"Hm…anything's fine" Kagami said uninterested.

Aomine glanced over at the red head, who was looking over at something. Curious, Aomine turned his head the same direction as Kagami's. The blunet's eyes widened when he saw what Kagami was so fixated in. There was a family; a father, mother and their son. They too were also choosing a movie to watch. However, they all looked happy together; the complete opposite of Kagami at the moment. Kagami had a pained expression, almost as if he longed for such a feeling; almost as if he _wished_ for a family like that.

Getting tired of the depressing atmosphere, Aomine took his arm and wrapped around Kagami's neck, pulling him closer, forcing him to look at the movie showings.

"O-Oi!" Kagami exclaimed. "W-What are you doing?!"

Aomine glanced at him for a second before averting his attention back to the movie showings. "You weren't paying attention to me, so I had to get your attention…" He paused for a second, "What do you wanna see? There has to be something you're interested in…Oh! What about Star Wars? Everyone likes Star Wars".

Kagami kept quiet.

"Wait…don't tell me you've never seen Star Wars?!" Aomine said shocked.

"…I haven't really had much of an interest in it, so I've never bothered watching it"

Aomine just stared at him in disbelief.

"Is it really _that_ surprising?" Kagami asked, beginning to feel uncomfortable with the blunet's stares.

"Of course it is!" Aomine ruffled his hair, "Ah man...We're gonna see Star Wars whether you like it or not". The blunet proclaimed as he grabbed hold of Kagami's hand.

"O-Oi, my hand!" Kagami blushed.

"Hm? It's not a problem, anyway hurry up, there's a showing in a few minutes, I don't wanna miss it." He said as he dragged the red head into the theater.

* * *

After buying their tickets and popcorn, one for each of them of course, they grabbed a seat near the back of the theater.

"It's been so long since I've gone to the movies" Aomine said as he flopped onto his seat.

"Yeah" Kagami agreed.

Aomine turned his attention further at the red head and squinted his eyes, "You're not very talkative today".

Kagami blushed, "I just don't have anything to talk about".

"Just say anything that comes to mind".

"Like I said, I just don't know"

Okay~ If that's what you say~" The blunet teased.

"What's that supp—"

"Shh! The movie's about to start" Aomine interrupted, his voice containing a little laughter.

The lights of the theater dimmed and the movie began.

* * *

"Wahhh~! That was so cool!" Aomine shouted, unable to contain his excitement.

"You're such a kid" Kagami said under his breathe.

"Huh?! What is that supposed to mean?! Are you telling me none of that amazed you?!"

"It was fine I guess. I just didn't really get it"

Aomine stared at him, unable to believe Kagami's words, but after a few seconds, he calmed down. "Well then, next time, we'll watch something you wanna watch".

"That's fine, as long as you're the one paying" The red head chuckled.

"Tsk. You're so cheap"

Kagami let out a small smile "I'll pay for food, so it's fine"

"Food is the only thing you'll pay for!"

"…Well food is worth it"

Aomine sighed, "You're unbelievable"

"…Should we head home now?"

"Hm? Why?"

Kagami pointed up at the dark cloudy sky, "Well it looks like it'll rain soon and neither of us brought an umbrella"

"Okay, but how bout we go get some food first?" The blunet suggested.

"Sure, where should we go?"

"Well I'm caving pasta"

"That's fine with me, but I don't know where a pasta place is"

"There's one further downtown" Aomine said, already beginning to walk in the direction of the restaurant.

* * *

"…I thought you knew where you were going" Kagami said, a bit irritated.

"Well I thought it was around here"

The two stood underneath the small roofing, hanging from the side of the building, watching the heavy rain fall from the sky.

"Doesn't this feel familiar though" Aomine chuckled.

"Yeah…"

"Doesn't look like the rain will let up anytime soon"

"We should just go home. There's some food, so I can just whip up something really quick"

"Okay, I'll call a taxi real quick" The blunet said while pulling his phone out and dialing the number for the taxi.

As Aomine spoke on the phone, Kagami watched the people walking in the rain. _'Were we the only ones who didn't know it was gonna rain?' _he asked himself, noticing that everyone had umbrellas. He continued to watch the people walk back and forth; that is until his eyes caught sight of something that felt oh so familiar.

Long red hair flashed before his eyes. A woman, who was tall and slim, walked past him. Kagami's eyes followed the woman; it took him a second before he was able to react.

"M-Mom?" The red head said in disbelief, taking a step forward. "No way, she's here?" Kagami continued, unable to gather his thoughts. However, without even thinking about it, he unconsciously began to follow the woman.

Aomine noticed Kagami step out into the rain, "Oi, Kagami! What are you doing?"

Kagami just continued to walk further away while ignoring Aomine.

"Kagami?" The blunet asked, concerned about Kagami's behavior.

"Hello? Sir?" The girl on the phone spoke.

"Ah!" he forgot he was on the phone. "U-Uh….I won't be needing a taxi anymore. Sorry" He immediately hung up and looked towards the direction Kagami went. However, when he looked, the red head was nowhere to be found. _'Shit'_ he cursed to himself, _'He couldn't have gotten that far'_. The blunet began to walk in the same direction as where he saw the red head wander off to.

* * *

Kagami continued to follow the woman, but she seemed to be getting further and further away. He began to pick up his pace, closing the distance between them. When he was close enough, he grabbed hold of her arm, "M-Mom!"

The woman turned around startled. "U-Um…" She said nervous.

Shocked, Kagami released her. _'The hair is the same, but the face is different'_ "I'm sorry…I seemed to have mistaken you for someone else"

"N-No, it's okay." The woman observed Kagami, "Do I look like your mother?"

Surprised by her question, the red head backed away from her, "Uh…Yeah…Your hair is similar"

She grabbed a piece of her hair and looked at it, "My hair huh?"

"Yeah…"

"Are you looking for your mother? You seemed a bit desperate when you grabbed me earlier"

"Huh? …not particularly, I just haven't seen her in a while"

"I see" She dug through her purse and pulled out a small piece of candy, "Here, you can have this, I would like to give you an umbrella, but I don't have an extra and I need to leave now. Make sure you return home properly okay?" She said patting his shoulder, while slipping the candy in his hand.

Kagami held onto the candy, "Thank you"

The woman waved goodbye and he only smiled back at her. Once she was gone, he opened up his hand and looked down at the candy. He was shocked to see what kind of candy it was. It was a cherry flavored Jolly Rancher. _'Was this just a coincidence?' _he thought to himself.

* * *

_10 years ago_

"Mom~!" The young boy yelled.

"Hm?" A woman with long wavy red hair turned around.

The boy approached her excitedly, "You won't believe what just happened!"

"What happene-! Taiga! What did you do to your eyebrows?!"

The boy touched his eyebrows, "That's what I was about tell you. There was a kid at the park and he said that if you cut your eyebrows, you'll be happy for the rest of your life."

The woman sighed, "And you just believed him?"

"Yeah!"

She kneeled down and held her son, "You know, you don't need to cut your eyebrows to be happy"

"Huh? Really? How do I do that then?"

She pulled her son into a tight hug.

"M-Mom~ You're squeezing to hard!" The boy said trying to free himself from her grip.

"Sorry sorry," she chuckled, "As long as we're all together, you'll always be happy"

The boy looked at his mom with big glistening his eyes, "Really?!"

"Yes really…oh!" She pulled something out of her pocket and placed it in the boy's hand. "Don't tell your father. You know he doesn't like it when you eat candy before dinner"

The boy opened his hand; it was a cherry Jolly Rancher. "Thanks mom! I'll be sure to treasure it!" he said while popping it in his mouth.

"That's a good boy" she smiled at him. "Now let's head home" She grabbed hold of the boy's small hand and led him home.

* * *

"As long as we're together huh?" Kagami whispered. "Why are we all separated now then? Was I never meant to be happy?"

Kagami stood still, the rain continuing to fall on top of him. He felt something wet roll down his face; was it his tears or was it just the rain. _'I can't tell'_ he thought to himself. His body felt weak, his legs began to buckle, causing him to fall onto the ground. _'Why does it always come to this?'_

* * *

Aomine turned the corner and found Kagami sitting lifelessly on the ground.

"Kagami!" he called out to him while running towards him.

The red head didn't look at him nor did he say anything. Aomine began to worry.

"O-Oi, Kagami? Are you okay?"

The red head didn't reply.

"Let's head home, okay?" The blunet helped bring Kagami back on his feet. "You don't have to worry about dinner, okay? I'll try to make us some sandwiches, but I can't guarantee that they'll taste good" he tried to laugh, but his face refused to smile.

Aomine was able to call over a taxi. The two sat quietly all the way home.

* * *

"Kagami, make sure you change your clothes. I don't want you catching a cold or anything" The blunet said, placing a towel on Kagami's head.

The two were in Kagami's room, since it just made everything easier. Since Aomine had to change the red head's clothes, he didn't have to go too far.

"…Why are you being so nice? Why are you always being so nice?" Kagami said quietly. So quiet that Aomine could've missed what he said. However, the blunet was shocked to hear Kagami speak.

"What was that?" Aomine grabbed the red head by the shoulders, "Did you wanna talk about something?"

"Why don't you just leave me alone?"

"Huh? Why in the world would I leave you alone?"

Kagami's voice started to quiver, "Everyone has left. I've been left alone…"

"But I'm here aren't I?"

"…You'll eventually leave like everyone else"

"I won't leave!" Aomine shouted while abruptly standing up, surprising Kagami. "I decided to stay here! I decided to be here with you!"

"…You're just lying"

Aomine began to get frustrated. "Why don't you understand?! I-"

Kagami looked up, noticing that the blunet suddenly stopped talking.

'_So this is what I've felt all along. This isn't just simply watching out for a friend, this must be…'_

"Aomine?"

The blunet looked Kagami in the eye and drew his face in closer, "I love you"

Kagami's eyes widened, "Y-You're lying. When you k-kissed me…you said it was nothing"

"That's cuz I was too stupid to understand what I was feeling. But I understand now" Aomine moved his face closer.

Kagami tried to back away, but he couldn't, "Y-You…" Tears began to run down his face, "There's nothing to like about me…I can't do anything right. How can you love me when my own parents don't even love me…I just don't understand"

Aomine's face was close enough that the red head could feel his breathe. "I don't care about those things. You're fine just the way you are. No one's ever had such an influence on me. I mean, you changed me. You never gave up on me. You and Tetsu both. Spending time with you has made me realize how much I can't live without you. Kagami, I want you to believe me. I can't stand watching you hurt yourself any further."

"B-But…" Kagami hesitated, but before he was able to even collect his thoughts, Aomine pulled him into a kiss.

"A-Aomine…"

The blunet opened his eyes, looking at Kagami's expression. Kagami's face was beat red, his eyebrows furrowed together, not sure on what to do.

'_He's so cute'_ Aomine thought while sliding his tongue deeper into the red head's mouth.

"Mm!" Kagami jolted when he felt a cold hand slip under his shirt.

"S-Sorry, but I don't think I'll be able to control myself" the blunet panted, pulling Kagami's shirt off. "I wanna convey my feelings for you"

Kagami looked up at Aomine. He felt nervous, but Aomine looked much more nervous than him. "O-Okay"

Aomine smiled, "Thank you…" The blunet placed a kiss on Kagami's forehead before removing his own clothes.

After removing his clothes, Aomine looked down at the red head's pants. "Um…I'm gonna remove these now…" he blushed.

"You don't have to narrate everything. It makes it embarrassing" Kagami blushed.

"Ah…okay" Aomine blushed.

The blunet carefully removed Kagami's pants, his hands shaking from nervousness. He then proceeded to remove the red head's boxers. Upon removing them, Kagami's dick sprung up, eagerly wanting attention.

"I haven't even done anything and you're so hard" Aomine chuckled, flicking Kagami's dick.

"Well you're no better" Kagami said, looking at Aomine's member.

"Shut up" the blunet began to suck on Kagami's neck. He wrapped his hand around Kagami's member, slowly moving his hand up and down.

Kagami jolted from the sudden pressure around his cock. _'Is this really happening?'_ the red head thought to himself. _'I'm not too sure yet, if I feel the same way Aomine does…but to have someone say they love me….it's a new experience for me. I'm not even sure if I still believe it…'_

"…Does it not feel good?" Aomine said discouraged, removing his hand from the red head's dick.

"Huh?" The red head immediately noticed the loss of contact down there. "N-no…it's not that. It's just...this is new to me. I mean it's not bad or anything. I guess I'm just kinda curious on how this'll go"

'_Curious…' _Aomine stared down at Kagami for a while until he lifted himself off the bed. "How bout we do this another time?" he explained.

"Huh? Why? Did I say something wrong? I thought you said you loved me?" The red head frantically said, grabbing onto Aomine's arm.

"Of course I love you! And you didn't say anything wrong. I just feel like you're not ready yet"

"Well if that's the case, then why? You like me, and I feel totally fine about it. I don't see the issue."

The blunet sighed, "You just don't get it."

"Get what?"

"Do you like me?" Aomine asked.

"Yeah, I'm beginning to enjoy being around you and you've looked out for me a bit…"

"But do you love me?"

Kagami paused, surprised by the blunet's question. "Well…that…I don't really know"

"I don't wanna do this until you come to love me." Aomine explained. _'Wow that was cheesy'_ he cringed.

The red head released Aomine's arm, "I understand"

"But this doesn't mean that I don't like you, okay?" Aomine said, worried that Kagami may feel dejected.

"I get it, I get it" Kagami said as he began to put his clothes back on.

"Sorry~" Aomine chuckled as he placed a kiss on the red head's forehead. "Don't worry though, I'll be sure to make you fall in love with me"

Kagami blushed and pushed the blunet away. "Don't be so full of yourself!"

Aomine just laughed as he left Kagami's room. But before exiting completely, he decided to tease him a bit more. "Goodnight Kagami~ Make sure you don't think too much about me~"

"Aho!" Kagami threw his shirt at the blunet as the door shut.

Kagami sat on his bed for a bit, but then he remembered something. "Didn't he say he'd make us something to eat…" the red head sighed. He pulled a bag of dried mangoes from his dresser, "I'll just eat these"

* * *

The two laid in their beds, thinking about the events that happened today. Both felt as though something was about to begin. While wondering on what to do next, the two wandered off to sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

_3 months later_

"Kagami" Aomine shouted from across the room.

"What is it?"

"My mom wants to know if we want to go eat dinner with her and my dad tonight" he said looking at his phone.

"….that would be my first time meeting your parents…"Kagami said nervously.

"Oh yeah" the blunet said observing Kagami. "It's fine though. They're really nice. Although my mom may ask you a lot of questions. But she means well. And as for my dad….well he doesn't talk much, he just likes to watch" Aomine explained trying to ease Kagami's nerves.

"Well, I suppose it's fine. You've been staying at my place for a while, so I guess I had to meet them eventually" The red head said to himself.

"Ok, then I'll text her back and tell her we'll be going tonight.

As Aomine texted his mother back, Kagami withdrew himself into the kitchen, acting like he was looking for something to drink. _'I'm gonna meet his parents…' _he thought, _'how should I act…will they like me? What if they don't like me?'_ The red head began to worry more and more about how Aomine's parents would view him. "A-Aomine, do I have to bring something? Like chocolates or something for them?"

"Huh?" Aomine lifted his head from his phone, "They don't need anything and it's not like this is like it's a special event or anything like that either"

"Ah, I see I see"

Aomine glanced over at Kagami who clearly seemed to be nervous about meeting his parents.

"You know…it's not like everyone is gonna hate you" the blunet said while approaching Kagami.

"T-that's not what I was thinking!"

"Hm…" at this point, Aomine was right in front of him, "Well either way it doesn't really matter"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Aomine leaned in closer to Kagami, "Even if everyone hates you, I'll always like you"

Kagami blushed "Y-you – saying corny lines like that doesn't suit you...Aho"

The blunet chuckled then placed a kiss on Kagami's cheek.

Kagami quickly placed his hand on the place Aomine kissed. "Will you stop with that! Why do you have to go kissing me all the damn time!?" He exclaimed as he pushed Aomine away.

"Why you ask…" Aomine's face looked serious. "I told you before that I love you didn't I?"

Kagami blushed remembering the incident from a few months ago. Kagami gritted his teeth before speaking, "You said that but…but there's no difference! The only thing different from before is that you'll kiss me every now and then! Do you think that's gonna make me fall for you?! I'm not some vulnerable girl who swoons over someone simply cuz they kiss me!"

The blunet was surprised by what Kagami yelled at him. He was speechless. He did tell Kagami that he loved him, but after that…after that what? He didn't know how to behave after telling him that, so he thought it'd be best to just act like normal. However, since he told Kagami that he loved him, he thought it was fine to at least kiss him every now and then. Was he going about everything wrong?

"Um...anyway I'll go get changed now" The red head said retreating to his room.

"Kagami wai-" Aomine tried to prevent him from leaving, but was too late. "Has he always felt that way?" he asked himself

* * *

Kagami threw himself onto his bed and stared up at his ceiling. "I can't believe I just blurted that out…" He closed his eyes '_Is that how I really felt? I mean all those words just…just came out. Ever since he confessed to me, nothing's changed. He said he'd make me fall for him, but I see no effort on his part…' _he thought, _'it's frustrating. He had the guts to say all of that, but doesn't have the guts to act on it…' _Kagami abruptly sat up. _'W-w-w-wait! It's not like I want him to do anything…it's just…it's just why bother going through all the effort to confess to someone, but then not do anything afterwards…isn't it pointless…'_ The red head let out a deep sigh, _'He's probably a virgin anyway'_

* * *

"Achooooo!" Aomine sneezed. "Oi, Kagami! Are you ready yet?"

Kagami came out of his room dressed in a black long sleeve and cargo shorts. "Ya, do we have to take the subway there?"

"Ya, but it's only a few stops away so it isn't that bad"

"Do I really not need to bring anything?"

Aomine slightly squinted his eyes, "You're still worried about that? I told you it was fine. They'll be happy enough to see that we're visiting"

"If you say so"

As they walked towards the front door, the blunet decided to ask something, "Hey Kagami…about before…I didn't know you felt that way. I just didn't know how to act from now on. I want to give you some time to think about how you feel and grow to like me more"

Kagami let out a sigh, "I get that, but I think you're going about it the wrong way"

"Then how should I act"

"Huh?! How am I supposed to know? You figure that for yourself"

"Hmm…I see"

Kagami turned around to see Aomine with a smug grin on his face. He felt a shiver down his spine, "E-ew why does your face look like that"

Aomine chuckled, "It's nothing, just had a thought"

'_I don't like the way that sounds'_ the red head thought to himself. "Anyway, we should go now"

"Mhm, but don't act like you know where you're going"

The two exited the apartment and made their way to Aomine's place.

* * *

"Daiki!" Aomine's mom shouted as they entered the house. She ran up to him giving him a suffocating hug.

"M-mom you're squeezing to hard" the blunet said trying to catch his breath.

Kagami flinched upon hearing that.

"Oh goodness!" she released him. "I'm sorry, it's just been a while since I last saw you" she giggled. She then turned her attention to Kagami, who seemed to be quite uncomfortable. "And you must be Kagami, it's nice to meet you" She said with a smile.

"I-it's nice to meet you too…Mrs. Aomine"

"Now now don't be shy" she grabbed Kagami by the wrist, tugging him towards the dining room. Aomine followed. "I heard that you eat a lot, so I made lots of food" She let go of Kagami's wrist. "Feel free to grab as much food as you like"

"Mom" Aomine said pinching the bridge of his nose, "You really didn't need to do all of this"

"I wanted to do this, so I did" She chuckled.

The blunet let out a sigh, "By the way, where's dad"

"Hm? Oh, he's right behind you"

Aomine was startled to see his father standing behind him. The man was about as tall as Aomine. He tanned skin, but surprisingly his hair was a deep brown rather than a dark blue. However, him and Aomine had the same haircut.

"Dad, at least say something when you're around" he said while playfully.

"Sorry" the man said. He turned his attention towards Kagami. The red head stiffly adjusted his posture. _'He has the same eyes as Aomine when he's playing basketball…'_ he thought.

"This is Kagami. I've been crashing at his place for a while" Aomine said.

"It's nice to meet you" Kagami bowed. He felt the need to act overly respectful towards Aomine's father for some reason.

His father just nodded his head. He then signaled to Kagami to stand up straight, "There's no reason to be so formal" was all he said before taking a seat at the dinner table.

"I told you before that my dad doesn't say much. But it's because he's like that that people tend to think that they need to be so formal. He seems to like you though" Aomine reassured Kagami.

After grabbing a plateful of food, the two took a seat at the table.

"So Kagami, is it alright living with Daiki? He tends to leave a mess wherever he goes, and he's not good with housework, nor can he cook" Mrs. Aomine explained.

"It's true that he's not very good at cooking or anything, but he's been making kind of an effort to clean up after himself" The red head said before taking a bite out of his food.

"Eh~ is that so. How'd you get him to do that?" She asked curiously.

"I don't know, he just started doing it not too long ago"

"So you're telling me that Daiki, my son, has just decided to start cleaning up after himself all of a sudden?"

Kagami just nodded his head.

She then turned her attention to Aomine. She gave a signal with her eyes. It read _'I know you're up to something'_ Aomine just pretended like he didn't see anything.

"Aaanyway, how have you guys been? I'm not here, so you guys have a lot of alone time I guess" the blunet asked.

"Oh just the usual nothing special" she chuckled. His father seemed to have had a slight grim on his face.

Once everyone started finishing their food, Aomine's mom was the first to leave the table, bringing any dirty dishes into the kitchen.

"Do you need any help?" Kagami asked her, while grabbing some of the plates.

"Oh! How nice of you" she chuckled. "If you don't mind helping, I'd greatly appreciate it. It'd be nice if Daiki came to help a little too"

Kagami turned around to see that Aomine was still at the table with his dad, "Well it seems he wanted to talk to his dad"

She glanced over at the two, "Ah, you're right. He's always been attached to his dad. He was practically the one who introduced basketball to Daiki. He always used to bring him to the outdoor court in the park when he was young." She said reminiscing. "How about you Kagami?"

"What?" Kagami asked confused.

"You have to have some good memories of your father as well. Like him taking you to the movies when you were young or anything like that."

Kagami stared at her, then cleared his throat before talking, "Well…my father…my father, he worked a lot so I didn't see him too often"

"Ah- I'm sorry for asking" she said apologetically. "B-but, I bet he really wanted to spend time with you!"

Kagami gave a pained smile, "I hope that was the case"

She looked up at him confused by his response, "What is tha-"

"But," Kagami interrupted, "My mother…she made up for all that while I was growing up. She always played with me, took me places, and even taught me so many things"

"Oh, well that's good then!" she patted him on the back. "It's always good to have someone there for you" She gave him such a gleaming smile; he couldn't help but smile back at her.

"…that's true" he unconsciously glanced over at Aomine, who seemed to have been having a good time chatting with his father.

"I guess that's the last of them. Thank you for helping me" She said rubbing Kagami's back.

"It's no problem" He walked back into the dining room where Aomine and his father were.

"Oh, are you guys done already?" Aomine asked.

"Yeah, we just finished"

"Ah okay" the blunet glanced over towards his dad, "I suppose it's time to go"

His father patted him on the head, "See you soon then"

Aomine let out a huge grin, one of which Kagami wasn't used to seeing. _'So he can smile like that'_ the red head thought to himself.

The two bowed and said goodbye to Aomine's parents and made their way back home.

They walked through the town underneath the dark starry sky, the street lights being the only thing illuminating their surroundings. The two were walking side by side in silence before Kagami started to fall behind. Aomine turned around to see the red head staring up at the sky. _'What's wrong with him?' _Aomine thought to himself, _'He's been acting kinda weird since we left'_. He tried waiting patiently for Kagami to say something, but when a minute went by without the red head saying anything, he decided to ask, "What's wrong? You've been a little weird since we left my place"

Kagami continued to stare up at the sky, "I really like your mom"

"Um yeah…she's pretty cool isn't she…" he didn't say much since he thought it may be best to listen to what Kagami was saying.

"She.." the red head let out a heavy sigh, "She reminds me of my mother…carefree, loving, and positive. Seeing how you and her interacted with each other reminded me of the times me and my mother shared…" it soon became difficult for him to continue talking, "…All the times she nagged…all the times she helped me…she…she was always there for me. She promised to always be with me…she said we'd all be together forever. But even after saying that, she still left…not only did she leave, she didn't bother-" tears slowly started to trickle from his eyes "She didn't bother to say anything, she left me behind with nothing" His light sniffles started to become loud sobs. "Was all the kindness she showed me lies. Did she really never care about me? Was I burden to her? Why?!"

"…Kagami" Aomine came up to him, embracing him as closely as he could. "I'm sorry that happened," the blunet wasn't sure if Kagami could hear him through the cries that filled the warm air or if he was even listening at all, but he wanted to tell Kagami all of this, "But I'm sure that she didn't just leave to abandon you, I'm sure she had her own reasons. If all you said about her looking after you is true, then I'm sure she will return one day. However, in the meantime, I will be with you. I refuse to leave you even if you push me away." He placed his hands on Kagami's cheeks, exposing his crying face to the blunet. Aomine then moved his face closer to the red head, "I'll always be here for you so please, please don't cry anymore" he gently whispered before pulling Kagami into an intimate kiss. The red head was still in tears as Aomine kissed him, but slowly, those rash breathes became calm light breathes. After breaking the kiss, Aomine pressed his forehead against Kagami's forehead, "I love you okay, no matter what happens, just know that I'll always love you"

* * *

_8 years ago_

"Taiga, get out from under there. It's dangerous"

"B-but you're mad at me aren't you? I-I broke your favorite mug" The young boy said in tears

The woman let out a sigh, "It's just a mug it can be replaced"

"No! You're just saying that! You hate me don't you" the boy whined.

"Taiga" she tried getting the boys attention, but he just continued crying. "Taiga!" She strongly yelled. Startled, the boy looked at her, eyes full of tears. She looked him in the eyes and softly spoke, "The mug doesn't matter. I can have hundreds of mugs if I wanted to, but I can only have one of you". The boy started to calm down. She continued, "I love you, you understand. No matter what happens, no matter what you do, I will always love okay? Now come here." She reached her hand out towards him.

The boy was hesitant at first, but he accepted the hand, allowing her to pull him out. "I-I'll get you a new mug" he nervously said.

She just chuckled, holding on tightly to the boy's hand. The warmth of her hand allowed the boy to calm down.

* * *

Kagami felt something within him as he heard Aomine's words. '_I love you okay, no matter what happens, just know that I'll always love you'_. It wasn't the first time Kagami heard those words, however, it felt oddly…different when Aomine said them. He glanced at Aomine's face, which was still very close to his. He felt an overwhelming tightness in his chest. _'What is this feeling?'_ he thought to himself.

Kagami snapped out of his daze upon hearing the blunet. "Better?" Aomine gently asked.

"Y-yeah" the red head nodded his head.

"Good!" Aomine said smiling widely.

Kagami's eyes widened when he saw this, _'So there is someone who can smile at me like that'_


End file.
